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AUTHOR: 


ROWNTREE,  JOHN 


TITLE: 


QUAKERISM 


PLACE: 


LONDON 


DA  TE : 


1859 


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pppi^^p 


Rowntree,  John  Stephenson,  1834-1907 » 

Quakerism,  past  and  present:  being  an  inquiry 
into  the  causes  of  its  decline  in  Great  Britain 
and  'Ireland ,  by  John  Stephenson  R^wniireo ... 
London,  Smith,  1859. 

viii,  189  p.       20|"  cm. 


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LIBRARY 


'i 


i    I 

1^ 


QUAKERISM, 


PAST  AND  PKESENT : 


BEING 


AN  INQUIRY  INTO  THE   CAUSES  OF  ITS  I^ECLINE 


IN  GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  IRELAND. 


BY 


JOHN    STEPHENSON   EOWNTREE. 


"  If  it  he  true  that  spiritual  religion  too  dimiy  shines  within  our  borders;  if  it  be 
true  that,  in  many  places,  the  strength  of  the  bearers  of  burdens  is  decayed ;  it  becomes 
a  Christian  Church  not  only  to  acknowledge  and  deplore  the  facts,  but  teriously  and 
in  t?te  fear  of  the  Lord  to  endeavour  to  ciscertain  the  cause,  and  to  seek  for  ability  to 
apply  t?te  remedy" 

York  Qcabterlt  Mbeting  of  F&iisnds,  1855. 


LONDON: 

SMITH,    ELDER    AND    CO.,   65,  CORNHILL. 

1859. 


[The  right  of  Translation  is  reserved.] 


; 


V 


CONTENTS. 


:bi  -n^'S 


Pbeface 


PAGE 
V 


CHAPTER  I. 

CiRCJTTMSTANCES  CONNECTED  WITH  THE   RiSE  OP  FrIENDS. 

Introductory  Remarks — John  Wycliffe — Progress  of  r«;ligious 
opinion  between  1324  and  1624,  the  year  of  George  Fox's 
birth — Henry  VIH. — Edward  VI. — Rapid  changes  in  the 
national  religion — Rise  of  Puritanism — General  decay 
of  piety — Later  Puritans — Their  polemics  and  Juiaizing 
theology — Companies  of  spiritual  worshippers  formed  in 
different  places — George  Fox 1 

CHAPTER  n. 

Original  Views  of  the  Founders  op  Quakjsrism 
connected  with  its  decline. 
George  Fox's  religious  exercises — He  learns  the  spiritual 
character  of  the  Gospel  dispensation  —  Publisties  his 
views  and  makes  converts — The  central  idea  of  (Quaker- 
ism, and  its  twofold  effect  on  the  Society  of  Friends — 
Positive  effects — Religious  liberty — Rejection  of  a  human 
priesthood— Tithes— Worship— Disuse  of  all  "forms"  by 
the  Friends — Practical  working  of  their  mode  of  wor- 
ship— Error  of  supposing  this  mode  of  worship  the  only 
right  one — Ministry — Gift  of  religious  teaching— Sym- 
bolic rites 13 


CHAPTER  III. 

Original  Views  of  the  Founders  op  Quakerism 
CONNECTED  WITH  ITS  DECLINE — Continued. 
Indirect  effects  of  distorted  doctrinal  views — Disparagement 
of  the  Reason — Fine  Arts — Scriptures — Discipline!    .        .    44 


IV 


CONTENTS. 


89 


CHAPTER  IV.  PAGE 

Numerical  strength  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  1680— Its 
proportion  to  the  general  population  —  Emigration — 
Number  of  Friends  in  1800,  1847,  and  1856       .        .        .    68 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Second  Epoch  of  Quakerism. 
Death  of  George  Fox— Tendencies  of  Quakerism  at  that 
period— Decline  of  the  Society  between  1690  to  1760— 
Dimmished  effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  —  Commercial 
prosperity  of  the  Friends— Education  defective  in  the 
Society,  and  the  reason  for  its  being  so  — Ackworth 
School  founded  in  1779,  with  important  results— Dimi- 
nished number  of  Ministers— "  Acknowledging  Minis- 
ters "—Birthright  membership 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Third  Epoch  of  Quakerism — Causes  of  Decline 
principally  introduced  after  1760. 
The  revival  of  the  Discipline  in  1760— Its  defective  cha- 
racter—The Friends  increasingly  isolate  themselves  — 
Quietism  —  Irish    secessions  —  Hicksites  —  Philanthropy 
-Dress  and  language 

CHAPTER  Vn. 

Modern  Causes  op  the  Society's  Decline— Confmuerf. 
Marriage  regulations  of  the  Society  of  Friends  —  George 
Fox's  doctrine  as  to  marriage— He  legislates  for  the 
Society— "  Mixed  marriages  "—Disownment  becomes  the 
stated  penalty  for  marriage  "contrary  to  rule"— Number 
of  persons  so  disowned  in  the  nineteenth  century— Infre- 
quency  of  marriage  amongst  the  Friends   .... 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Summary  of  preceding  Argument 


117 


144 


159 


PREFACE. 


A  FEW  sentences  only  are  needful  to  exj)laln  the 
origin  of  the  accompanying  Essay.  In  the  inonth  of 
March,  1858,  there  appeared  in  the  public  prints 
the  following  announcement : — 

SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS.— PRIZE  ESS^.Y. 

A  GENTLEMAN  who  laments  that,  notwithstanding  the 
population  of  the  United  Kingdom  has  more  than  doubled  itself 
in  the  last  fifty  years,  the  Society  of  Friends  is  less  in  number 
than  at  the  beginning  of  the  century ;  and  who  believes  that 
the  Society  at  one  time  bore  a  powerful  witness  to  the  world 
concerning  some  of  the  errors  to  which  it  is  most  prone,  and 
some  of  the  truths  which  are  the  most  necessary  to  it  ;  and  that 
this  witness  has  been  gradually  becoming  more  and  nn  ore  feeble, 
is  anxious  to  obtain  light  respecting  the  causes  of  th  is  change. 
He  offers  a  PRIZE  of  ONE  HUNDRED  GUINEi^.S  for  the 
best  ESSAY  that  shall  be  written  on  the  subject,  and  a 
PRIZE  of  FIFTY  GUINEAS  for  the  one  next  in  raerit.  He 
has  asked  three  gentlemen,  not  members  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  to  pronounce  judgment  on  the  Essays  whicli  shall  be 
sent  to  them.  They  have  all  some  acquaintance  with  the  his- 
tory of  the  Society,  and  some  interest  in  its  existing  members ; 
and  as  they  are  likely  to  regard  the  subject  from  different 
points  of  view,  he  trusts  that  their  decision  will  be  impartial ; 
that  they  will  not  expect  to  find  their  own  opinions  r<;presented 
in  the  Essays ;  and  that  they  will  choose  the  one  which  exhibits 
most  thought  and  Christian  earnestness,  whether  it  is  favour- 


\ 


VI 


PREFACE. 


PREFACE. 


Vll 


able  or  'unfavourable  to  the  Society,  whether  it  refers  the 
diminution  of  its  influence  to  degeneracy,  to  something  wrong 
in  the  original  constitution  of  the  body,  to  the  rules  which  it 
has  adopted  for  its  government,  or  to  any  extraneous  cause. 

Rev.  F.  D.  MAURICE,  Chaplam  of  Lincoln's  Inn;  Pro- 
fessor  J.  P.  NICHOL,  Glasgow;  and  Rev.  E.  S.  PRYtJi., 
Gravesend,  have  agreed  to  act  as  Adjudicators. 

The  number  and  ability  of  the  Essays  which  this 
announcement  elicited,  while  it  afforded  gratifying 
testimony  to  the  interest  which  the  subject  has  ex- 
cited, added  greatly  to  the  labour  and  responsibility 
of  the  adjudicators.  The  illness  of  Professor  Nichol, 
which  has  since  terminated  in  his  lamented  death, 
was  one  of  the  "  unforeseen  hindrances"  which  occa- 
sioned the  delay  of  the  adjudicators'  decision.  It  was 
given  in  August,  1859,  in  the  following  terms  :— 

SOCIETY  OF  FRIE]ST)S.— PRIZE  ESSAYS. 

The  adjudicators  of  the  Prizes  for  the  best  Essays  on  the 
Causes  of  the  Decline  in  the  Society  of  Friends  regret  that 
they  have  been  prevented  from  arriving  at  an  earlier  decision 
by  unforeseen  hindrances,  by  thfe  large  number  and  extent  of 
the  Essays  submitted  to  them,  and  by  their  exceeding  desire  to 
deal  justly.     The  terms  of  the  original  proposal  do  not  permit 
the  adjudicators  to  specify  more  than  the  two  Essays  which 
appear  to  them  to  have  the  superior  claims ;  but  they  feel  it 
right  to  bear  testimony  to  the  great  ability  displayed  by  many 
of  the  other  writers,  and  to  record  their  conviction,  that  the 
publication  of  what  they  have  written,  by  the    individual 
authors,  would,  in  many  cases,  be  advisable,  and  for  the  public 
advantage.     In  performing  the  painful  duty  of  setting  aside 
so  many  estimable  and  elaborate  productions,  the  adjudicators 
have  necessarily  been  influenced  by  various  classes  of  con- 
siderations :  they  have  been  deterred,  in  some  cases,  by  the 


If 


presence  of  irrelevant  disquisitions,  and  they  have  aeen  espe- 
cially solicitous  that  the  spirit  manifested  by  the  successful  can- 
didates be  such  as  seemed  most  in  accordance  with  th(j  object  for 
which  the  prizes  were  offered,  as  plainly  set  forth  in  Ihe  general 
advertisement.  It  has,  after  careful  consideration,  leen  deter- 
mined that  an  Essay,  bearing  a  motto  from  a  report  of  the 
York  Quarterly  Meeting  of  the  year  1855,  should  receive  the 
first  prize ;  and  one  bearing  the  motto  verbum,  vii'a^  lux,  the 
second  prize.  A  degree  of  hesitation  having  been  expressed 
by  the  adjudicators  as  to  the  relative  place  which  ought  to  be 
assigned  to  the  two  successful  essays,  the  donor  of  the  prizes 
has  generously  offered  to  make  the  second  prize  equal  to  the 
first.  The  writers  of  these  Essays  evidently  belong  l;o  different 
schools,  and  contemplate  the  subject  from  entirely  different 
points  of  view.  No  one  of  the  adjudicators  wishes  to  be  held 
responsible  for  the  sentiments  of  either  writer.  But  they  are 
unanimous  in  hoping  that,  in  choosing  both,  they  are  doing  their 
best  to  promote  the  objects  of  the  giver  of  the  prizes,  and  to 
fulfil  their  trust. 

J.    P.   NiCHOL. 

F.  D.  Maurice. 
E.  S.  Pryce. 

The  Essay  to  which  the  first  prize  was  iidjudged 
is  printed  in  the  present  volume. 

It  may  be  convenient  to  state  briefly  at  the  outset 
the  line  of  argument  that  has  been  pursued  in  the 
following  pages.  The  reader  will  find  his  attention 
first  directed  to  the  historical  and  social  features  of 
the  epoch  in  which  the  Society  of  Friends  ar()se,  these 
having  powerfully  influenced  the  conduct  of  il;s  found- 
ers. The  author  next  examines  the  doctrines  and 
practices  of  the  "  early  Friends,"  with  especial  refei^- 


Vlll 


PREFACE. 


[I  i 


ence  to  such  of  them  as  appear  to  have  occasioned 
or  accelerated  the  Society's  decline.  He  then  en- 
deavours to  ascertain  the  numbers  of  the  Friends  at 
different  periods  of  their  liistory,  and  determine  the 
extent  of  their  recent  diminution.  The  succeeding 
chapter  (the  fifth)  is  occupied  with  the  second  epoch 
of  the  Society's  history,  extending  from  the  death 
of  George  Fox,  in  1690,  to  the  revival  of  the  dis- 
cipline in  1760.  The  sixth  and  seventh  chapters 
examine  the  causes  of  decline  which  have  most 
prominently  manifested  themselves  within  the  last 
hundred  years;  and  the  essay  is  concluded  by  a 
summary  of  the  previous  argument,  and  a  resumd 
of  the  whole  case  presented  in  a  condensed  form. 


QUAKEEISJi/[: 

PAST  AND   PKESENT. 


CHAPTER  I. 


CIRCUMSTANCES  CONNECTED  WITH  THE  USE  OF 

THE  FHIENDS. 

Introductory  remarks— John  Wycliffe— Progress  of  religious  opi- 
nion between  1324  and  1624,  the  year  of  George  Fo;c's  birth- 
Henry  VHI.— Edward  VI.— Rapid  changes  in  tho  national 
religion— Rise  of  Puritanism— General  decay  of  picity— Later 
Puritans  :  their  polemics  and  Judaizing  theology — (Companies 
of  spiritual  worshippers  formed  in  different  places — G  2orge  Fox. 


*'  It  was  an  age  of  deep  earnestness.  Frivolous  and  luxurious  men 
had  for  a  while  retreated  to  make  way  for  impassioned  and  high- 
wrought  spirits;  for  the  interpreters  at  once  of  the  ancient  revela- 
tions, and  of  the  present  judgments  of  Heaven ;  for  the  monitors  of  an 
ungodly  world j  and  for  the  comforters  of  those  who  bent  beneath  the 
weight  of  national  and  domestic  calamities.'* — Sir  Jahes  Stephen. 


The  Society  of  Friends  dates  its  origin  fi'om  the 
year  1647.  Its  fomider,  George  Fox,  was  then 
twenty-three  years  of  age.  If  a  title  so  honourable 
as  that  of  "  the  last  of  the  Reformers  "  be  accorded 


» 


2  QUAKEIUSM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

to  him  (and  we  are  prepared  to  grant  it),  we  may 
stay  to  note  that  his  birth,  in  1624,  was  just  three 
hundred  years  after  that  of  John  Wycliffe,    «  the 
Morning   Star  of  the  Reformation."     These  three 
centuries  were  among  the  most  eventful  in  the  his- 
tory of  man ;  the  human  intellect  had  taken  gigantic 
strides,  the  invention  of  printing  had  widely  ex- 
tended the  bounds  of  knowledge,  new  continents  had 
been  discovered,  commerce  was   opening  for  itself 
fresh  channels  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  the  German 
Reformation  had  shaken  the  Papacy  to  its  centre, 
and  numerous  European  States  had  renounced  their 
dependence   on  the  Roman  pontiff.      England  was 
one  of  these  States,  and  perhaps  nowhere  else  (Scot- 
land excepted)  can  it  be  said  that  the  doctrines  of 
Protestantism  were   more  fully   accepted   or    more 
highly  prized.     Yet  the  opinion  of  John  Wycliffe, 
« that  the  great  heresy  of  Rome  was  to  believe  in  the 
power  of  man  in  the  work  of  regeneration,"*  was  but 
imperfectly  accepted  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  «  The  Reformation,"  says  the  London  Yearly 
Meeting  of  Friends  in  1857,  had  but  "partially  dis- 
pelled the  idea,  so  foreign  to  primitive  Christianity 
(that  had  grown  up  in  the  preceding  long  and  dark 
night  of  apostacy),  of  the  possibility  of  performmg  the 

♦  Quoted  by  D'Aubigne,  Hist,  of  Reformation,  ToL  v.  p.  137. 


THE  ENGLISH  KEFORMATION.  3 

service  of  God  by  proxy."*  The  extent  to  which 
the  civil  power  had  been  connected  with  religious 
movements  in  England  may  principally  have  occa- 
sioned this  result.  Questions  of  state  policy  had 
prevented  the  full  development  of  the  Reformation, 
and  had  arrested  its  progress  at  a  point  short  of  what 
many  of  its  champions  desired. 

It  does  not,  however,  appear  that  any  of  the  early 
Reformers  carried  their  Protestantism  so  far  as  was 
afterwards  done  by  George  Fox,  in  advocating  the 
entire  abolition  of  a  human  priesthood  in  the  Church 
of  Christ,  and  the  recognition  of  the  Lord  Jesus  as 
its  one  holy  Head  and  great  High  Priest.  The  idea  of 
the  continued  presence  of  the  Saviour  witli  His  fol- 
lowers had  been  so  obscured  by  the  Romish  apostasy, 
that  it  was  but  slowly  men  awoke  to  the  (conscious- 
ness of  its  reality,  and  hence  throughout  ^he  entire 
period  from  1500  to  1650  religion  was  too  often 
treated  as  a  sort  of  State  engine — painfally  indi- 
cating the  forgetfulness  of  the  apostolic  tnith,  that 
"  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  not  meat  an  d  drink ; 
but  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost"  t 
.    Prepared  by  the  diffusion  of  WyclifFe's  translation 

*  Printed  Minutes  of  London  Yearly  Meeting,  1857,  p.  12. 
t  Romans  xir.  17. 

II  2 


!;  i| 


n 


4  QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

of  the  Bible,  as  well  as  by  that  political  jealousy  of 
Rome  which  had  always  existed  in  England,  the 
nation  readily  assented  to  Henry  VIII.'s  renuncia- 
tion of  Papal  supremacy  (when  the  selfish  ends  of 
that  monarch  prompted  the  step).     But  this  was  a 
very  small  part  of  the  work  of  the  Reformation.     It 
hardly  advanced  beyond  the  stage  of  infancy  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  VHI.     The  inalienable  right  of  pri- 
vate judgment  in  the  things  of  God  was  not  yet 
openly  asserted,  and  public  opinion  scarcely  ques- 
tioned the  authority  of  the  King  to  punish,  even  with 
death,  men  whose  consciences  would  not  keep  pace 
with  Court  decrees  and  Acts  of  Parliament— whether 
it  were,  as  in  the  cases  of  Bishop  Fisher  and  Su: 
Thomas  More,  out  of  deference  to  Papal  rights ;  or 
in  those  of   the  pious  martyrs.  Frith  and  Bilney, 
who  desired  a  thorough  reformation  of  the  National 
Church  in  accordance  with  scriptural  principles. 

The  personal  piety  of  Edward  VL,  and  of  many 
of  the  great  men  who  surromided  his  throne,  was 
a  happy  circumstance  for  England,  and  under  their 
reforming  zeal  the  national  religion  substantially 
assumed  its  present  form  ;  but  the  very  rapidity 
and  extent  of  the  changes  that  were  made  in  the 
six  eventful  years  of  his  short  reign—"  changes," 
says  Marsden,  "  efiTected  by  Parliament,  and  pub- 


THE  ENGLISH  REFORMATION.  5 

lished  under  their  authority  by  letters  patent  from 
the  King"* — had  a  bewildering  effect  on  tbe  nation; 
and  from  the  opposition  these  changes  e\oked,  as 
well  as  from  the  general  return  to  Popery  on  the 
accession  of  Mary,  we  conclude  they  went  quite  as 
far  as  the  nation  was  then  prepared  for.  Whilst 
it  would  be  a  grave  mistake  to  ignore  the  existence 
of  a  considerable  body  of  persons  in  England,  pre- 
pared at  all  costs  to  maintain  their  allegiance  to 
God  amidst  the  changes  of  the  ruling  powers  (and 
not  a  few  evidenced  the  reality  of  their  faith  in 
banishment,  in  prison,  and  at  the  stake),  the  student 
of  English  history  cannot  but  be  struck  with  the 
facility  with  which  the  masses  of  the  people  accom- 
modated their  religious  professions  to  the  views  of 
their  rulers.  "  During  the  twelve  or  thirteen  years 
which  followed  the  death  of  Henry  VHL,"  says  Lord 
Macaulay,  "  the  religion  of  the  State  was  thrice 
changed.  Protestantism  was  established  by  Edward, 
the  Catholic  Church  was  restored  by  Mary,  Pro- 
testantism was  again  established  by  Elizabeth.  The 
faith  of  the  nation  seemed  to  depend  on  the:  personal 
inclinations  of  the  sovereign,"  f  It  is  a  remarkable 
fact,  and  one  that  displays  the  degradation  induced  by 

♦  Marsden's  Christian  Sects,  vol.  L  p.  227. 

f  Review  of  Burleigh  and  his  Times,  Essays,  vol.  i.  p.  226. 


e 


QUAKEEISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


the  long  bondage  of  Rome,  that,  "  out  of  ten  thousand 
benefices,  not  quite  three  hundred  incumbents,  who 
had  acknowledged  the  Romish  supremacy  under  Mary, 
declined  to  accept  that  of  EHzabeth  in  its  stead."  * 

Quakerism  was  so  intimately  connected  with  Puri- 
tanism, that  the  rise  of  the  ''  early  Puritans"  in  the 
reign   of  Edward  VI.,  out  of  the  "  vestiarian  con- 
troversy "  of  Bishop  Hooper,  must  not  be  passed  by 
without  an  allusion.      They   constituted   for   many 
years  an  important  party  in  the  Church  of  England, 
and  whilst  advocating  further  reformation  in  the  cere- 
monials of  the  established  worship,  they  did  not — 
like  some  of  their  successors — mistake  the  externals 
or  accompaniments  of  rehgion  for  the  thing  itself; 
and  they  zealously  sought  to  promote  the  cause  of 
Clu:ist,  and  to  extend  virtue  and  piety  throughout 
the  nation.      No  doctrinal  difference  of  unportance 
existed  between  them  and  the  other  party  in  the 
Church  till  the  close  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  when  the 
scriptural  requirements  for  Sabbath  observance  were 
differently   interpreted;    and  a   rigid  conception    of 
their  meaning  constituted  the  first  doctrinal  pecu- 
liarity of  Puritanism. 

As  assisting  us  to  realize  the  outside  idea  of  reli- 
gion  prevailing  at  this  period,  the  correspondence 
*  Marsden's  Early  Puritans^  p.  100. 


THE  PURITANS.  7 

between  the  imperious  Queen  and  the  devoted  Arch- 
bishop Grindal  on  the  "  prophesy ings"  repays  perusal. 
In  one  of  her  letters,  Elizabeth  expresses  her  prefer- 
ence for  having  but  few  "  preaching  clergy,"  and  re- 
fuses to  sanction  or  permit  these  popular  gsiherings 
for  religious  instruction.     Grindal  pleads  (iarnestly 
for  their  maintenance,  and  was   disgraced   for   his 
firmness  ;  yet  how  limited  wxre  even  his  views  of 
the  "  Gospel  liberty  of  prophesying "  is  proved  by 
his  regulation,   that    "  No   man  may   speak  unless 
he  be  first  allowed  by  the  Bishop,  wuth  tliis  proviso, 
that  no  layman  he  suffered  to  speak  at  any  timer '^    As 
the  great  men  who  had  conducted  the  Reformation 
of  the  English  Church   under   Edward  VI.  passed 
to  their  rewards  in  heaven,  and  their  places  were 
filled  in  the  latter  years  of   the  Elizabethan  period 
by  men  of  less  zeal  and  piety,  religion  and  morality 
declined  in  England;  this  declension  becoming  in- 
creasingly apparent  in  the  reigns  of  the  firsD  Stuarts. 
True  it  is  that  the  Puritan  party  upheld  a  standard 
of  strict  morality,  and  had  assumed  that  austerity 
of  manners  which  we  are  accustomed  to  associate 
with  their  memory;  but  they  were  not  sufficiently 
numerous  to  withstand  the  encouragement  given  by 
James  I.  to  vice  and  profligacy,  through  the  pub- 

*  Remains  of  Archbishop  Grindal,  p.  385.     Parker  Societj 


s 


QUAKERISM:     PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


i 


lication  of  the  Book  of  Sports,  and  by  the  per- 
nicious example  of  his  Court.  This  double  aspect 
of  society — the  licentious  and  the  puritanic — during 
the  first  forty  years  of  the  seventeenth  century,  must 
be  kept  steadily  in  view  when  considering  the  rise  of 
Quakerism;  for  it  was  a  protest  against  both  extremes, 
and  the  reverse  action  of  each  of  them  is  distinctly 
visible  in  the  views  and  practices  of  the  Friends  in 

the  present  day. 

Without  more  than  a  passing  allusion  to  the  oft- 
told  story,  how  Charles  I.  attempted  to  govern  de- 
spotically ;  how  he  was  assisted  by  the  High  Church 
party  under  Archbishop  Laud,  with  its  frightful 
engine  of  oppression  the  Court  of  Star  Chamber; 
how  these  enormities  and  the  Romanizing  tenden- 
cies of  the  Court  and  clergy  augmented  the  num- 
bers of  the  Puritans,  resuscitated  their  hatred  of 
prelacy,  and  stimulated  their  fanaticism,  so  intensi- 
fying the  political  struggles  that  ended  in  civil  war 
and  the  overthrow  of  the  monarchy, — ^we  pass  on 
to  invite  particular  attention  to  the  polemical  con- 
troversies of  the  times  ;  they  were  incessant,  and 
embraced  a  wide  theological  area.  The  greatest 
mysteries  of  our  faith  —  free-will,  predestination, 
election,  and  reprobation — were  under  constant  dis- 
cussion in  England  fi-om  1600  to  1660;  as  also  in 


POLEMICAL  CONTROVERSIES.  9 

other  parts  of  Europe,  particularly  Holland,  where 
the  Synod  of  Dordt  was  convened  in  1618,  in  an 
endeavour  to  determine  the  points  in  dispute.  The 
hard,  decided,  and  vehement  manner  in  -which  the 
disputants  urged  their  views  on  points  which  more 
than  any  other  demand  diffidence  and  reference,  is 
specially  obsen^able.  When  the  occasions  of  differ- 
ence are  principally  external — as  to  the  scriptural 
claims  of  presbyterian  or  episcopal  churcli  govern- 
ment, or  the  position  of  the  communion-table  in  the 
churches,  or  the  vestments  worn  by  the  clergy- 
man, &c. — the  same  tone  of  thought  and  feeling  is 
visible ;  there  is  great  attention  to  the  externals  of 
religion,  but  a  marked  declension  in  real  piety  (speak- 
ing collectively),  between  the  theologians  of  the  Re- 
formation and  those  of  the  epoch  under  review. 
Marsden  says,  "  There  is  less  of  the  earnestness  and 
of  the  composure  of  men  who  are  conte^nding  for 
vital  truths  of  eternal  moment"  (than  in  the  early 
Reformers).  "A  fierce  contest  there  is,  with  its 
noise  and  clamour  ;  but  the  contest  se(3ms  more 
for  victory  than  for  truth Their  lite- 
rature is  heartless,  and  their  divinity  vrants  life. 
Tliis  is  shown  by  endless  conceits  in  the  one,  by 
affectation  and  litigiousness  in  the  other,  and  in 
both  by  a  careful  avoidance  of  what  is  great  and 


i! 


'*! 


10 


QUAKEEISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


JUDAIZmG  THEOLOGY  OF  PURITANS. 


11 


really  important,  or  an  incapacity  of  comprehend- 
ino:  it"*  When  the  ci\'il  war  loosened  the  whole 
framework  of  English  society,  these  polemical  dis- 
cussions increased  both  in  frequency  and  violence; 
no  opinion  being  too  wild  to  prevent  its  adoption 
by  fanatical  sectaries  known  under  the  general  term 
of  «  malignants." 

Still  there  was  real  religion  in  England — men 
and  women  who  walked  hmnbly  before  their  God, 
and  ministers  who  faithfully  preached  the  Gospel ; 
but  much  remains  to  assure  us  that  the  show  of  piety 
presented  by  the  English  nation,  when  governed  by  a 
Puritan  Parliament  and  a  Puritan  "  Protector,"  was 
more  superficial  than  deep;  and  whilst  the  clergy 
were  laborious  and  assiduous  in  the  discharge  of 
their  pastoral  functions,  it  was  too  often  in  "  the 
deadness  of  the  letter,"  rather  than  in  the  life  and 
freshness  of  evangelical  piety.  This  state  of  things 
resulted  in  great  measure  from  the  Judaizing  element 
existing  in  the  Puritanic  theology  from  its  origin, 
a  hundred  years  previous  to  the  time  of  the  Com- 
monwealth, and  which  had  been  further  developed 
during  the  civil  wars  between  the  King  and  Par- 
liament. In  writing  to  Bullinger  in  1568,  Sandys, 
Bishop    of   London,    presents    an    epitome    of   the 

*  History  of  the  Early  PuritanSf  p.  336. 


Puritan  tenets  under  nine  heads:  the  last  is  "The 
Judicial  Laws  of  Moses  are  binding  upon  Christian 
princes,  and  tliey  ought  not  in  the  slightest  degree 
to  depart  from  them."*  Fully  believing;  in  this 
doctrine,  the  Long  Parliament,  as  well  as  Crom- 
well's soldiers,  examined  the  inspired  volume  pre- 
cisely as  if  it  had  been  a  statute  book,  and  in  too 
many  cases  professed  to  derive  from  it  their  authority 
for  acts  of  violence  and  injustice.  Closely  allied  to 
this  subject  was  the  belief  so  ardently  controverted 
by  Pennf  and  Barclay,  but  almost  universally  enter- 
tained by  their  contemporaries,  that  the  promises  of 
God  to  his  Church,  as  recorded  in  Scripture,  were 
the  exclusive  possession  of  an  outward,  objective 
corporation  of  men,  occupying  an  analogous  posi- 
tion to  that  of  the  Israelites  of  old ;  all  dissenters 
from  it  beings  chismatics  and  heretics,  and  therefore 
amenable  to  punishment  by  the  civil  power. 

Quakerism  so  clearly  reflected  the  featu]*es  of  the 
age  that  gave  it  birth — it  was  so  moulded  by  sur- 
rounding circumstances — that  we  must  fail,  in  com- 
prehending it  without  first  mastering  this  section  of 
English  history,  some  of  whose  salient  features  we 
liave  endeavoured  to  enumerate.     When  we  remem- 

*  Zurich  Letters y  1,  p.  294. 

t  See  especially  W.  Penn's  Address  to  Protestmts, 


12 


QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


ber  the  political  character  of  the  English  Reformation 
— the  long  struggle  between  moniirchical  and  popular 
authority,  partly  political  and  partly  religious,  termi- 
nating in  the  civil  wars — and  when  we  contemplate 
the  heartless  polemics  of  the  "  Later  Puritans,"  we 
are  prepared  to  understand  why  little  companies  of 
persons  drew  together  in  different  parts  of  England 
and  Scotland,  wearied  with  theological  disputation, 
offended  alike  by  the  lofty  pretensions  of  the  High 
Church  clergy,  and  by  the  rigid,  unsatisfying,  ex- 
ternal religion  of  Puritan  "professors" — "burdened," 
as  it  is  expressed  in  Alexander  Jaffrey's  memoirs, 
"  with  the  formality,  superstition,  and  will-worship 
prevalent  around  them,  waiting  upon  God  in  a  holy 
silence  and  awful  humility  of  soul  for  ability  to  draw 
nigh  unto  Him  in  true  spiritual  worship."*    Thus  the 
way  was  prepared  for  the  rise  of  a  Church  that  should 
bear  a  prominent  testimony  to  the  spiritual  nature  of 
the  kingdom  of  Christ,  whenever,  in  the  ordering  of 
Providence,  a  man  should  present  himself  endowed 
with   sufficient  zeal,  endurance,  and  sagacity  to  in- 
spire confidence  in  his  authoritative  proclamation  of 
the  impotency  of  "outward  forms"  in  giving  pure 
and  undefiled  religion.    Such  a  man  was  George  Fox. 

♦  Barclay's  Diary  of  Alexander  Jaffrey^  p.  228. 


13 


CHAPTER    II. 

ORIGINAL  VIEWS  OF  THE  FOUNDERS  OF  QUAKERISM 
CONNECTED  WITH  ITS  DECLINE. 

George  Fox's  religious  exercises— He  learns  the  spiritual  character 
of  the  Gospel  dispensation — Publishes  his  views,  and  makes 
converts — The  central  idea  of  Quakerism,  and  it?  twofold 
effect  on  the  Society  of  Friends — Positive  effects — Religious 
liberty — Rejection  of  a  human  priesthood — Tithes — "ViTorship — 
Disuse  of  all  "  forms  "  by  the  Friends— Practical  working  of 
their  mode  of  worship — Error  of  supposing  this  mode  of  wor- 
ship the  only  right  one — Ministry — Gift  of  religious  teaching 
— Symbolic  rites. 


**  Human  wisdom  is  in  its  highest  exercise  when  it  is  obi'erving  the 
superiority  of  Divine  wisdom^  and  following  its  method  of  procedure.^* 
— James  M'Cosh,  LL.D. 


It  was  in  1643  (the  year  that  saw  the  appciintment 
of  the  parliamentary  committees  on  scandalous  minis- 
ters) that  George  Fox,  then  in  his  nineteenth  year, 
a  young  man  of  unblemished  morals,  but  of  little 
education,  who  from  childhood  had  lived  in  "  honesty 
and  innocency "  (the  words  are  his  own),  entered  on 
that  extraordinary  series  of  spiritual  conflicts  which 
attended  his  path  for  upwards  of  three  years  pre- 


QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


vious  to  engaging  in  tlie  work  of  liis  life.  We  have 
termed  his  conflicts  extraordinary ;  and  so  they  must 
ever  appear  when  examined  from  a  mere  psycho- 
logical point  of  view;  and  yet  it  would  hardly 
seem  as  if  the  leaders  of  spiritual  and  religious 
life  could  be  fitted  for  their  respective  missions, 
without  passing  through  these  deep  mental  con- 
flicts— we  may  call  them  spiritual  exercises:  we 
may  say  such  men  are  on  the  confines  of  insanity 
(and  so  they  may  be);  but  the  lives  of  Martin 
Luther,  of  Ignatius  Loyola,  of  John  Bunyan,  and 
of  the  Wesleys  are  examples  ready  to  our  hand, 
that  the  greatest  minds  must  undergo  this  prepara- 
tory discipline,  before  being  fully  qualified  to  guide 
or  powerfully  to  influence  the  minds  of  others. 
Though  the  query  was  presented  to  George  Fox 
and  to  each  of  the  great  men  just  enumerated  in 
a  different  light  and  under  widely  differing  circum- 
stances, substantially  the  question  that  disturbed 
their  spirits  was  the  same,  "What  shall  I  do  to 
be  saved?"  The  answer  returned  to  each  was 
practically  the  same  also;  the  same  that  was  re- 
turned to  the  Philippian  gaoler  by  Paul  and  Silas, 
but  the  difference  of  mental  constitution,  the  dif- 
ferent epochs  in  which  they  livedo  the  differences 
of   national   character  and  of   previous   education. 


GEORGE  FOX. 


15 


marked  out  for  each  of  these  imperial   minds  dis- 
tinct and  widely  differing  lines  of  action. 

An  influential  element  in  Fox's  case  was  the  con- 
scientiousness which  formed  so  prominent  a  feature 
in  his  character.  On  one  occasion  we  read  of  liis 
affliction  at  '^  the  delinquency  of  a  professor ; "  at 
another  time  he  says,  '^I  could  have  wished  that 
I  had  never  been  born,  or  that  I  had  been  bom 
blind,  that  I  might  not  have  seen  wickedness  or 
vanity;  and  deaf,  that  I  might  never  have  heard 
vain  and  wicked  words,  or  the  Lord's  name  blas- 
phemed."* In  fact,  his  despair  was  occasioned 
rather  by  the  wickedness  existing  in  the  world 
at  large,  than  from  sins  which  he  was  conscious 
of  having  himself  committed.  He  "  cried  to  the 
Lord,"  saying,  "  Why  should  I  be  tlius,  seeing 
I  was  never  addicted  to  commit  those  evils  ? " 
And  the  Lord  answered  "  That  it  was  needful  I 
should  have  a  sense  of  all  conditions:  how  else 
should  I  speak  to  all  conditions,  "f  Bewildered 
by  the  mental  anguish  these  feelings  occasioned 
him,  George  Fox  unsuccessfully  souglit  spiritual 
advice  from  the  most  noted  religious  professors  he 
came  in  contact  with.  His  description  of  them 
tallies  with  our  previously  expressed  ideas  respect- 
George  Fox's  Journaly  p.  4,  1st  ed.  f  Ibid.  p.  13, 


16 


QUAKERISM:   PAST  ANT>  PRESENT. 


GEORGE  FOX. 


17 


f    I 


m       1 


ing  the  clergy  as  a  class :  they  pronounced  con- 
fidently on  any  doctrinal  questions  Fox  put  to  them, 
but  they  did  not  understand  the  wants  of  his  bur- 
dened spirit,  and  he  left  them  unrelieved,  regarding 
them  as  "  miserable  comforters."  Despairing  of 
human  aid,  he  applies  with  increased  assiduity  to 
the  study  of  Scripture ;  throughout  his  life  he 
spoke  of  the  sacred  writings  as  being  "very  pre- 
cious" to  him;  and  yet  he  was,  perhaps,  hardly 
aware  of  the  full  extent  of  his  obligations  to  them. 
They  were  his  sole  companions  in  "hollow  trees" 
and  "  desolate  places,"  and  the  intimate  knowledge 
he  thus  obtained  of  their  contents  was  of  inesti- 
mable benefit  to  himself  and  to  the  society  he  was 
to  found. 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1647  Fox  emerged 
from  the  gloom  that  had  so  long  rested  on  his 
spirit;  he  found  one,  "even  Christ  Jesus,  that 
could  speak  to  his  condition."*  In  evangelical  lan- 
guage, he  found  "'  peace  with  God,  through  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ."  He  felt  a  great  change  had  come 
over  him ;  he  had  tried  to  get  help  from  man,  and 
had  failed ;  he  had  been  driven  to  Christ  Himself, 
and,  as  he  believed,  had  now  received  light  imme- 
diately  from  Him. 

*  George  Fox's  Journal^  p.  8. 


Fox   rejoiced  in  his  new   life;    he   "could  have 
wept    day    and    night   with    tears    of   jcy;"*    he 
longed   to  impart  his  discovery   of  the  spirituality 
of  true  religion  to   others.     So  he  entered  on  his 
mission   as   a   religious   reformer,   commissioned   to 
bring  back  to  the  Church  a  long-lost  and  forgotten 
truth— -even   the  truth  that  Jesus    Christ,   by  his 
Spirit,  dwells   in  the   hearts   of  all   believers.     "I 
was  commanded,"  says  he,  "  to  turn  people  to  that 
inward  light,  spirit,  and  grace,  by  which  all  might 
know  their  salvation  and  their  way  to   Crod,  even 
that  Divine  Spirit  which  would  lead  them  into  all 
truth,   and    which    I   infallibly    knew   would    never 
deceive  any."t     With  persuasive  eloquence,  though 
rude  and  unlettered.  Fox  began  to  call  raen  from 
"  forms  and  shadows  "  to  the  "  life,  light,  aid  power 
of  Christ  in  their  own  hearts."     Numerous  converts 
attached  themselves  to  hun;  and  it  is  important  to 
note  that  their  primary  ground  of  union  (as  officially 
stated  by  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  London),  wasi  "agree- 
ment of  sentiment  in  regard  to  Christ's  inwai-d  teach- 
ing.":{    In  that  intolerant  age,  persecution  in  every 
form  tracked  his  steps;   and  we  do  but  justice  to 

*  George  Fox's  Journal,  p.  14.  f  Ibid.  p.  23. 

t  Preface  to  3rd  edition  of  volume  of  Discipline  of  the  Religiovs. 
Society  of  Friends ^  with  Advices,  ^c,  p.  7, 


18  QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

his  memory  by  adding,  that  it  was  borne  in  a 
spirit  that  attested  the  reality  of  his  piety.  It  is 
not  within  our  province  to  narrate  the  successes, 
the  trials,  the  persecutions,  and  martyrdoms  of 
the  "early  Friends;"  for  our  present  purpose  it 
is  sufficient  if  we  have  shown,  that  the  bringing 
man  immediatehj  to  Christ,  was  the  radical  idea  of 

Quakerism. 

The  truth  thus  underlying  the  whole  superstruc- 
ture that  has  been  raised  upon  it,  is  essentially  deep 
though  simple.     It  is  capable  of  varied  modes  of 
expression,  and  we   shall   have   to   show  that   con- 
elusions,  in  defiance  of  all  reason  and  logic,  have 
heen  deduced  from   the   fundamental  and   Catholic 
position,  that   a  measure   of  Divine  light  is  given 
to  aU  men-differing,  it  may  be,  in  degree,  as  the 
twinkling  of  the  remotest  planet  differs  from   the 
splendour  of  the  noonday  sun— and  that  it  is  only 
through   the    "testimony  of  the    Eternal    Spirit," 
manifested  in  the  heart  and  conscience,  that  the 
« true  knowledge   of  God  hath  been,  is,  and  can 
be  revealed"  to  mam     The  clumsiness  of  language 
adequately  to  express  deep  ethical  truths  has  been 
often  felt  and  acknowledged.     Barclay  himself  was 
careful  to  guard  his  thesis  on  this    subject  with 
the  proviso,  that  it  must  never  be  understood  in 


FUNDAIMENTAL  VIEWS   OF  THE  FOUNDERS.       19 


any  sense  that  should  ^^  contradict  the  outward 
testimony  of  the  Scriptures,  or  right  and  sound 
reason."* 

From  the  central  idea  above  defined,  .sprang  at 
once  the  strength  and  the  weakness  of  Quakerism  ; 
the  strength  which  necessarily  flowed  from  the 
apprehension  of  so  great  a  truth  —  the  weakness 
incident  to  human  fallibility,  in  failing  to  perceive 
the  conditions  and  limitations  that  shou'id  deter- 
mine the  practical  application  of  this  ti-uth.  It 
was  the  feeling  that  they  were  grasping  a  reality 
instead  of  a  shadow  —  the  substance  i]istead  of 
the  form  —  that  induced  so  many  persons  to  ac- 
cept the  views  proclaimed  by  Fox  and  his  col- 
leagues; and,  inspired  by  the  lofty  consciousness 
of  being  under  the  immediate  eye  of  Heaven, 
the  early  Friends  presented  for  forty  years  one 
of  the  most  unsullied  pictures  of  Christian  re- 
signation under  suffering  that  the  world  has  yet 
witnessed,  ultimately  triumphing  by  the  micrht  of 
passive  resistance,  "wearying  out  persecution,"  and 
so  purchasing  for  England  the  priceless  jewel  of 
religious  liberty.  Not  that  they  were  the  only 
labourers  in  accomplishing  this  great  work;  but 
how  large  their  share  in  it  was,  is  increasingly  per- 

*  Barclay's  Apology,  Prop.  ii. 

C  2 


20 


QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND   PRESENT. 


REJECTION  OF  A  PRIESTHOOD. 


21 


ceived  by  historians  and  philosophers.*  But  we 
hasten  to  inquire,  how  far  the  general  theology  and 
the  practices  of  George  Fox  and  his  friends  were 
affected  by  their  belief  in  the  essential  spirituality 
of  the  religion  of  Christ.  The  influence  of  this 
belief  was  twofold — positive  and  negative :  positive, 
inasmuch  as  it  was  the  root  from  which  sprang  the 
Society's  views  in  relation  to  the  worship  of  God, 
including  the  rejection  of  a  human  priesthood,  and 
of  all  ceremonial  rites ;  negative,  by  making  the 
Quaker  representation  of  Christian  faith  and  prac- 
tice specially  liable  to  distortion,  by  the  overshadow- 
infr  of  correlative  truths  (as  the  doctrine  of  Christ's 
atonement  for  sin,  the  profitableness  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, &c.),  and  by  inducing  a  general  disparagement 
of  secondary  and  instrumental  means  in  the  nurture 
and  maintenance  of  religion. 

We  propose,  in  the  first  place,  to  examine  the 
positive  developments  of  the  doctrine  of  the  "in- 
ward light,"  and  their  influence  on  the  Society  of 
Friends ;  and  afterwards  the  less  obvious,  but  hardly 
less  influential,  consequences,  indirectly  springing 
from  the  same  source.     "  Christ  having  instituted," 

*  See  Colquhoun's  Short  Sketches  of  some  Notable  Lives ;  Ban- 
croft's Hist,  of  America,  vol.  ii.;  Chevalier  Bunsen's  Signs  of 
the  Times,  p.  298;  Dixon's  Lives  ofPenn  and  Blake, 


says  the  learned  and  profound  Neander,  "  a  fellow- 
ship of  divine  life,  which  proceeding  from  the  equal, 
and  equally  immediate  relation  of  all  to  the  one  God, 
as  the  divine  source  of  life  to  all;  ,  ,  ,  there 
could  be  no  longer  a  priestly  or  prophetic  o:Sce,  con- 
stituted to  serve  as  a  medium  for  the  prDpagatlon 
and  development  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  on  which 
ofiice  the  religious  consciousness  of  the  ccmmunity 
was  to  be  dependent.  Such  a  guild  of  priests  as 
existed  in  the  previous  systems  of  religion,  em- 
powered to  guide  other  men,  who  remained  as  it 
were  in  a  state  of  religious  pupilage,  having  the 
exclusive  care  of  providing  for  their  religious  wants, 
and  serving  as  mediators  by  whom  all  other  men 
must  first  be  placed  in  connection  with  God  and 
divine  tilings — such  a  priestly  caste  could  find  no 
place  within  Christianity."*  It  was  the  emphatic 
acceptance  of  the  doctrine,  so  luminously  set  forth 
in  the  preceding  passage,  that  induced  ::he  early 
Friends  to  frame  their  ecclesiastical  polity  in  har- 
mony with  what  they  took  to  be  its  re(][uirings ; 
and  also  to  refuse  to  acknowledge  by  ])ecuniary 
payments,  even  when  enjoined  by  the  civil  power, 
the  claims  of  the  clergy,  or  priests,  as  they  termed 
them,  of  the  Established  Church. 

*  Neander's  Ch.  Hist.,  vol.  I  p.  245. 


22 


QUAKEKISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


TITHES. 


23 


il 


ti 


I 


It  is  stated  in  a  document  issued  by  the  Yearly 
Meeting  of  London  in  1851,  that  "no  part  of  the 
testimony  of  our  early  Friends  was  more  clear  and 
explicit  than  that  which,  in  the  obedience  of  faith, 
they   bore   against   the   human    priesthood   and    its 

offices,  and  against  the  system  of  tithes 

To  acknowledge  this  priesthood,  and  to  render  to 
it  the  tithe  of  the  beasts  of  tlie  field,  and  of  the 
produce  of  the  earth,  was,  in  their  view,  to  be  im- 
faithful  in  their  allegiance  to  Him  who,  having  come 
a  '  High  Priest  for  ever  after  the  order  of  Melchise- 
dec,'  had  put  an  end  to  the  priesthood  of  Aaron,  and 
abolished  also  the  tithes  and  offerings  that  pertained 
thereto."*  There  had  been  considerable  unsettle- 
ment  in  England  on  the  subject  of  tithes  before  the 
times  of  George  rox,t  and  when  his  earnest  preach- 
ing was  first  leading  great  numbers  of  persons  to 
accept  the  spiritual  views  of  religion  he  enunciated, 
and  when  he  anticipated  the  reformation  of  the  Uni- 
versal Church  as  the  result  of  his  labours,  not  the 
mere  gathering  of  a  sect,  there  were,  doubtless,  some 
who  united  themselves  with  him  under  the  idea  of 
thereby  obtaining  exemptions  from  these   burdens. 

*  An  Address  to  the  Society  of  Friends  on  the  Inconsistency  of 
Tithes,  §-c.,  from  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  London,  p.  9,  1851. 
t  See  Pearson's  Great  Case  of  Tithes,  p.  24,  ed.  1730. 


In  this  they  were  disappointed;  and  when,  instead 
of  receiving  exemption,  it  became  evident  i:hat  their 
profession  exposed  to  more  pecuniary  loss  on  this  ac- 
count, rather  than  less,  such  persons  left  th(3  Society. 
As  the  extract  pre\iously  given  rightly  states,  none 
of  the  "  testimonies "  of  the  early  Friends  were 
more  decided  than  that  against  tithes;  and  most 
heavily  they  suffered  in  person  and  estsite  in  its 
defence  (imprisonment  not  being  preventel  by  the 
Toleration  Act  of  1690,  but  continuing  to  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  century).  Great  has  been 
the  influence  which  the  treatment  of  this  subject 
has  exerted  on  the  Society  in  various  ways.  To 
quote  again  from  the  document  before  alluded  to: 
"  In  their  resistance  to  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  mili- 
tary demands.  Friends  have  acted  on  the  broad  and 
palpable  distinction  which  exists  between  payments 
made  specifically  for  objects  inconsistent  with  the 
law  of  Christ,  or  directly  to  an  authority  which 
they  cannot  conscientiously  recognize,  and  pay- 
ments into  the  national  treasury  for  the  general  pur- 
poses of  the  State,  though  some  of  the  purjposes  may 
be  objectionable."  Yet  wliilst  the  London  Yearly 
Meeting  may  define  this  distinction  to  be  "broad  and 
palpable,"  to  not  a  few  minds  within  the  Society,  aa 
well  as  to  many  in  the  community  at  large,  it  has 


24 


QUAICERISM:   PAST  AND  PKESENT. 


TITHES,  ETC. 


25 


seemed  to  be  far  otlierwise ;  and  that  these  imposts, 
sanctioned   by  Act  of  Parliament,  are  not   essen- 
tially different  from  other  taxes,  their  direct  payment 
to  the    recipient,   instead   of  passing    through  the 
national  treasury,  being  an  accident   not   affecting 
the  responsibility  of  the  payer.     No  one  subject  has 
claimed   more  of  the   attention   and   advice  of  the 
Yearly  Meeting,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  space  occu- 
pied by  it  in  the  Society's  volume  of  "  Rules  and 
Advices,"  in  which  no  less  than  forty-three  distinct 
paragraphs  are  devoted  to  "  tithes,  sufferings,  &c." 
By  the  first,  dated  1675,  it  will  be  seen  how  early 
difficulty  was  felt  in  inducing  all  Friends  to  refuse 
these  payments ;  and  from  the  Journal  of  John  Grif- 
fiths, it  would  appear  as  if  the  numbers  paying  these 
imposts  without  demur,  or  resorting  to  dishonom-able 
compromises,  was  very  considerable  in  the  beginning 
and  middle  of  the  eighteenth   century.     With  the 
resuscitation  of  the  discipline  about  1760,  increased 
attention  was  paid  to  this  subject,  and  disownment 
was  the  penalty  inflicted  on  those  Friends  who  con- 
tinued to  pay  tithes  or  church-rates.     This  increased 
rigour  was  one  cause  of  driving  many  families  from 
the  rural  districts, — some  into  our  great  cities,  some 
to  foreign  lands,  whilst  some  united  themselves  with 
other  reliirious  denominations. 


It  is  needless  for  us  here  to  enter  on  the  question, 
whether  Christianity  sanctions  or  demands  the  refusal 
to  pay  any  impost  directed  by  the  law  of  ihe  land ; 
but  it  is  our  decided  conviction  that  no  iscriptural 
warrant  exists  for  making  such  refusal  an  essential 
condition  of  church  fellowship,  and  that  ths  attempt 
so  to  make  it  has  been  injurious  to  the  Society  of 
Friends.  Whether  we  take  Scripture  only  for  our 
guide,  or  whether  we  examine  the  histoiy  of  the 
Universal  Church,  we  shall  arrive  at  the  same  con- 
clusion— that  whilst  man's  weakness  compels  the 
entrance  to  membership  in  earthly  churches  to  be 
somewhat  "narrower  than  the  gates  of  heaven," 
every  needless  hindrance  lessens  both  the  usefulness 
and  the  stability  of  the  Church  that  imposesjt.  We 
shall  hereafter  point  out  that  the  practice  of  the 
"early  Friends"  was  sometimes  preferabl(3  to  their 
written  statements.  The  present  case  is  an  excep- 
tion. William  Penn,  when  defming  the  essentials 
of  church  fellowship  in  his  Address  to  Protestants, 
says,  "  No  tiling  of  weight  can  be  objected  "  against 
the  position  that  "  behef  with  the  heart,  and  the 
confession  with  the  mouth,  that  Jesus  is  i;he  Christ 
and  Son  of  God,"  is  sufficient  "  to  entitle  a  man  to 
communion  here,  and  salvation  hereafter."*     William 

♦  Penn's  "Works,  yoI.  i.  p.  76. 


26 


QUAKERISM:  PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


PUBLIC  WORSHIP. 


27 


I 


Penn*  also  denounced  in  very  nearly  the  same  words 
since  used  by  Dr.  Arnold,  "the  double  error"  of 
having  "a  strict  bond  in  matters  of  opinion,  and 
none  at  all  in  matters  of  practice."  f  The  Society  of 
Friends  has  fallen  into  a  mistake  the  reverse  of  this ; 
and  we  shall  frequently  have  to  draw  attention  to  the 
loss  of  numbers  and  of  influence  which  it  has  conti- 
nually suffered  tlu'ough  attempting  to  enforce  com- 
pliance with  modes  of  action  not  immediately  con- 
nected with  moral  duties,  though  possibly  recommended 
by  considerations  of  Christian  expediency — a  class  of 
subjects  on  which  ^^  wise  men  agree  to  differ." 

We  conclude  this  department  of  our  subject  in  the 
words  of  a  living  author,  as  placing  in  a  clear  light 
some  of  the  consequences  that  result  from  making  the 
refusal  of  ecclesiastical  demands  a  criterion  of  Chris- 
tian faithfulness,  and  an  essential  to  church  member- 
ship :  "  It  induces,"  says  Dr.  Ash,  "  many  members 
of  the  Society  who  have  no  scruple  of  conscience 
against  paying  these  imposts,  unwillingly  to  refuse 
their  payment,  on  the  lower  and  very  questionable 
ground  of  complying  with  tlie  wishes,  and  avoiding 
the  censure,  of  their  brethren.  It  subjects  those  who 
do  pay  them  to  that  censure,  and,  consequently,  to 

*  Penn's  Works  :    Address  to  Protestants,  sec.  iii 
X  Life  ofDr,  Arnold,  vol.  ii  p.  15. 


loss  of  reputation  in  the  Church.  In  botb  ca^es  its 
tendency  must  necessarily  often  be,  in  a  ^p-eater  or 
less  deforce,  to  alienate  their  own  affections,  and  still 
more  those  of  their  children,  from  the  Society."* 

We  beheve  the  peculiar  form  of  public  worship 
adopted  by  the  Friends  has  not  a  little  to  do  with 
tlieu:  decHning  numbers.      In  the  desire  to  abstain 
from  all  "  forms,"  they  meet  together  for  the  purpose 
of  public  worship  in  silence,  and  should  no  minister 
be  present  (now  often  the  case  in  many  meetings)  not 
a  word  will  be  spoken,  and  the  worshippers,  after  sit- 
ting an  hour  or  two  in  silence,  disperse.     V/'hen  thus 
assembled,  says  Robert  Barclay,  "  the  great  work  of 
one  and  all  ought  to  be  to  wait  upon  Grocl,  and  re- 
tiring out  of  their  own  thoughts  and  imagiaations,  to 
feel  the  Lord's  presence,  and  know  a  gathering  into 
His  name  indeed,  where  He  is  in  the  midst,  accord- 
ing to  His   promise.      And  as   every   one   is   thus 
gatliered   and   so   met   together,    inwardly-   in   their 
spirits,  as  well  as  outwardly  in  their  persons,  there 
the  secret  power  and  virtue  of  hfe  is  known  to  re- 
fresh the  soul,  and  the  pure  motions  and  breathings 
of  God's    Spirit   are   felt  to  arise,   from   which,  as 
words  of  declaration,  prayers,  or  praises  arise,  the 
acceptable    worship   is    known,    which    edifies    the 

*  Dr.  Ash's  Seven  Letters  to  a  Friend,  p.  37. 


il 


28  QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

Churcli,  and  is  well  pleasing  to  God.     .     .     .     Yea, 
though  there  be  not  a  word  spoken,  yet  is  the  true 
spiritual  worship  performed,  and  the  body  of  Christ 
edified."  *    There  will  be  few  spiritually  minded  men 
of  any  persuasion,  who  will  affirm  that  true  worship 
may  not  be  rendered  to  Almighty  God  in  meetings 
conducted  in  this  manner ;  and  that  it  is  so  rendered, 
the  experience  of  the  Friends  for  two  hmidred  years 
warrants  us  in  affirming.     But  the  Society  has  gone 
much  fm-ther  than  merely  to  defend  silent  worship, 
as    one    manner   of  fitly   conducting    this   religious 
duty.     Barclay,  in  liis  Apology  for  the  True  Chris- 
tain  Divinity  of  the  People  called  Quakers  (and  it  will 
be  remembered  this  volume  is  printed  and  circulated 
by   the   Yearly   Meeting   of  London),    affirms   that 
«  silence  is,  and  must  necessarily  be,  a  special  and 
principal  part  of  God's  worship;  "t  and  again,  in  the 
words   of  the  proposition  on  this  subject,  after  re- 
counting "what   true   worship  is,"  he  adds:    ''AH 
other  worship,  then,  both  praises,  prayers,  or  preach- 
ings, which  man  sets  about  in  his  own  will,  and  at 
his  own  appointment,  which  he  can  both  begm  and 
end  at  his  pleasure,  do,  or  leave  undone,  as  himself 
seeth  meet,  whether  they  be  a  prescribed  form,  as  a 
liturgy,  &c.,  or  prayers  conceived  extempore  by  the 

♦  Barclay's  Apology^  p.  333  (deventh  ed.).         t  I^^^*  P-  ^24. 


PUBLIC  WORSHIP. 


29 


natural  strength  and  faculty  of  the  mind,  tl  ey  are  all 
but  superstition,  will-worship,  and  abominable  idolatry 
in  the  sight  of  God,  which  arc  now  to  be  d(;nied,  and 
rejected,  and  separated  from,  in  this  day  of  his  spiri- 
tual arising."*  This  paragraph  was  penned  about  the 
year  1675,  when  the  Society  of  Friends  had  existed 
but  twenty-eight  years,  and  when  most  of  those  who 
professed  its  doctrines  and  attended  its  worship  were 
persons  who  did  so  from  deep  personal  conviction.  It 
is  not  difficult  to  understand  the  spiritual  refreshment 
they  experienced  in  their  religious  meetings ;  and 
great  allowance  may  justly  be  made  for  the  asperity 
with  which  the  public  worship  of  other  relij^ionists  is 
denounced.  But  it  by  no  means  follows  that  what 
was  suitable  for  the  *^  early  Friends,"  -srith  their 
earnest  piety,  is  fit,  or  even  desirable,  for  those  who 
are  very  differently  circumstanced.  Bar(day  prac- 
tically admits  the  unfitness  of  long-continued  silence 
to  promiscuous  gatherings  for  Divine  worship,  in 
which  there  may  be,  and  often  are,  "many  young 
persons  and  individuals  unconverted  to  (rod."  In 
his  seventh  head  under  the  proposition  on  Worship, 
he  says,  "  There  can  be  nothing  more  opposite  to  the 
natural  will  and  wisdom  of  man  tlian  this  silent  wait- 
ing upon  God ;"  and  it  might  have  been  ad  led  that  it 

*  Barclay's  Apology^  p.  325. 


30 


QUAKEEISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


PUBLIC  WORSHIP. 


31 


is  opposed  to  the  instincts  of  such  Christians  as  have 
not  been  accustomed  to  its  practice :  the  simple  reason 
beino-,  that  the  structure  of  the  human  mind  is  not 
adapted  to  long-continued  silence ;  and  this  is  espe- 
cially the  case  in  the  earher  stages  of  Hfe. 

Several  extracts  might  be  furnished  from  the 
waitings  of  persons  intimately  acquainted  ^Ndth  the 
actual  working  of  the  Friends'  mode  of  silent  wor- 
ship confirmatory  of  this  opinion ;  we  insert  one  from 
the  pen  of  Ehzabeth  Fry.  She  says  :  "  To  believe, 
as  I  do,  that  some  of  our  congregations  are  in  an 
unregenerate  state,  how  must  their  silent  meetings 
be  past  ?  And  for  the  babes  in  Christ  I  have  great 
fears,  inasmuch  as  true,  solemn,  silent  worship  is  a 
very  high  administration  of  spiritual  worship.  I 
frequently  fear  for  such  that  more  external  aid  is 
wanted,  though  I  see  not  how  it  is  to  be  given.  I 
also  feel  the  w  ant  of  each  one  openly  uniting  in  some 
external  act  of  w^orship,  for  there  is  much  in  taking 
an  absolute  part  in  what  is  doing,  to  feel  a  full  in- 
terest in  it."  *  The  altered  character  of  the  religious 
meetings  of  the  Friends  at  the  present  time  from 
those  at  the  rise  of  the  Society  will  hereafter  claim 
frtrther  attention,  as  the  subject  is  deeply  important- 

The    mistake  of  the   "  early  Friends "  was,  we 

*  Memoirs  of  E,  Fry,  vol.  il  p.  188. 


apprehend,  that  of  supposing  that  the  on(j  form  of 
worship  which  corresponded  most  closely,  in  their 
judgment,  with  the  spu:itual  nature  of  this  exercise, 
was  the  only  one  acceptable  to  God,  or  worthy  the 
adoption  of  his  Church ;  whereas  they  would  have 
most  successfully  commended  their  practices  to 
others,  had  they  remembered  that  "worship  is 
planned  altogether  in  adaptation  to  the  limitations 
of  the  inferior  party,  not  in  proportion  to  the  in- 
finitude of  the  superior ; "  *  and  more  truly  w^ould 
they  have  advanced  the  cause  of  spiritual  religion  in 
the  world,  by  uniting  tlie  practice  of  silenl;  worship 
with  those  other  arrangements  which,  though  not 
worship  itself,  do  at  times  prepare  the  way  for  it; 
as  the  audible  reading  of  Holy  Scripture,  the  teach- 
ing of  Christian  truth,  &c. ;  not  now  to  recount 
the  arguments  w^hich  may  be  adduced  on  behalf  of 
congregational  singing.  There  must  necessarily  be 
some  human  arrangements  for  the  performance  of 
public  worship,  as  the  appointment  of  place  and  time, 
which  is  fully  admitted  by  Barclay. f  Whether  it 
be  desirable  to  limit  these  arrangements  to  the  very 
barest  matters  of  necessity,  instead  of  employing  the 
appliances  indicated  by  experience  to  be  raost  con- 

♦  Natural  History  of  Enthusiasm,  p.  28. 

f  See  his  answer  to  Objection  2,  proposition  on  Woruhip, 


32  QUAKERISM :  PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

ducive  to  the  performance  of  real  worship,  is,  then, 
not  a  question  of  principle,  but  merely  one  of  dec^^ee; 
doubtless  left  undetermined  by  Scripture,  that  each 
church  might  make  such  arrangements  as  it  found 
to  be  most  suited  to  its  special  circumstances. 

Robert    Barclay's    proposition   on    the    Ministry 
runs  as  follows:-" As  by  the  light  or  gift  of  God 
all  true  knowledge   in   things   spiritual  is  received 
and  revealed,  so  by  the   same,  as  it  is  manifested 
and  received    in  the  heart,  by  the    strength   and 
power   thereof,  every  true   minister  of  the  Gospel 
is  ordained,  prepared,  and  supplied  in  the  work  of 
the    ministry;    and  by  the  leading,   moving,   and 
drawincr  hereof,  ought  eveiy  evangelist  and  Chris- 
tian prstor  to  be  led   and    ordered  in  his  labour 
and  work  of  the  Gospel,  both  as  to  the  place  where, 
as  to  the  persons   to  whom,   and  as  to  the   time 
wherein  he  is  to  minister."*     The  necessity  of  the 
Divine  call  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  is  generally 
acknowledged  :  the  ordination  services  of  the  Church 
of  England  recognize  it,  as  well  as  those  of  other 
evancrelical  Churches,  though  it  must  be  owned  its 
absolute  necessity,  and  the  personal   requirements 
which  are  involved  in  the   acknowledgment,   con- 
tinue,  as  was  the  case  two  hundred  years  ago,  to  be 

*  Barclay,  Prop.  x.  p.  256. 


MINISTRY. 


33 


far  too  much  overlooked.  The  number  of  ministers 
in  the  first  rise  of  the  Society  of  Friends  was  very 
large  indeed;  but,  in  most  parts  of  the  country 
they  rapidly  became  less  numerous,  and  during 
the  present  century  this  diminution  has  l)een  still 
more  marked.  The  Society  has  been  accustomed  to 
attribute  this  deficiency  of  preachers  to  a  "  want  of 
individual  faithfulness,"  and  to  the  "prevalence  of  a 
worldly  spirit;"  but  latterly  many  of  its  more  thought- 
ful and  intelligent  members  have  perceived  that  there 
have  been  other  causes  at  work  in  the  production  of 
this  result.  We  have  now  before  us  numerous  recent 
pamphlets  and  documents  relating  to  the  Society. 
Their  disclosures  are  a  striking  confirmaticn  of  the 
wise  maxim,  that  "  extremes  beget  extremes."  That 
the  attempt  to  claim  a  degree  of  direct  Diviue  direc- 
tion in  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  miauthorized 
by  Scripture,  and  not  required  by  the  necessity  of 
the  case  (if  we  may  use  such  an  expression),  whilst 
it  might,  in  the  first  outburst  of  zeal,  increase  the 
number  of  preachers ;  yet  when  that  zeal  cooled, 
its  efibct  was  precisely  the  reverse ;  and.,  instead 
of  having  in  each  congregation  many  who  possessed 
and  exercised  the  gift  and  "  true  gospel  liberty  of 
prophesying,"  such  became  even  less  numerous  than 
in  the  other   churches   of  Christendom,  wliere   the 


f? 


34  QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

ministrations   were    confined   to   the   one   "person," 
or    "parson;'    as  he   was  termed— a  condition    of 
things  that  had  been   denounced  by   George  Fox 
as   a   great   usurpation    of  Christian   liberty.      The 
conclusion    of    the    paragraph    from    Barclay   pre- 
viously  quoted,   is  but  a  mild  instance   compared 
with  some  that  might  be  furnished,  as  to  the  ex- 
tent to  which  immediate  spiritual  influence  has  been 
looked  for   in  the  performance    of   the  ministerial 
calling— a  degree  hardly  inferior  to  that  granted  to 
the  Hebrew  prophets,-.comprehending  directions  as 
to  the  matter  spoken,  the  words  to  be  used,  time, 

place,  &c.* 

When  such  an  amount  of  spiritual  guidance  has 

been  regarded  as  needful  to  a  rightly  authorised 
minister,  we  are  not  surprised  to  learn  from  a  docu- 
ment  read  at  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  1856,  that  in 
the  Quarterly  Meeting  of  Bristol  and  Somerset, 
which  contains  about  one  thousand  members,  be- 
sides other  attenders,  "two-thirds  of  the  meetings 
have  no  acknowledged  minister,"  an  experience  not 

*  We  are  informed  that  in  a  recent  conference  of  Friends  an 
eminent  minister-a  man  of  extended  observation  and  of  deep 
Christian  experience-spoke  strongly  against  persons  expecting 
a  revelation,  "  as  distinct  as  would  be  required  to  predict  the 
downfall  of  a  city,  before  they  would  venture  to  open  their  mouths 
in  vocal  prayer  or  ministry." 


MINISTRY. 


35 


differing  from  that  of  many  other  parts  of  Eng- 
land. The  document  proceeds,  with  as  much  mode- 
ration as  wisdom,  "  We  think  tliere  has  been  too 
great  a  tendency,  in  many  instances,  to  reistrict  the 
exercise  of  spiritual  gifts  to  the  services  of  acknow- 
ledged ministers,  and  that  a  disposition  to  look  for 
extraordinary  revelations  has  led  to  a  disregard  of 
that  all-pervading  influence  by  which  the;  natural 
powers  of  the  mind  might  have  been  sanctified  ta 

the  Lord's  service We  believe,  indeed, 

that  the  tendency  of  which  we  speak  accounts  for 
tlie  neglect  of  many  of  those  gifts  which  have  been 
allowed  to  lie  dormant  amongst  us,  and  that  it  has, 
in  some  instances,  produced  a  discouraguig  effect 
on  those,  who  might  otherwise  have  been  engaged 
in  the  work  of  the  ministry  to  their  ovm  profit 
and  to  tlie  edification  of  their  friends.  It  may 
also  sometimes  have  been  the  case,  that  an  unwill- 
ingness to  become  the  servant  of  Christy  and  to 
confess  Him  before  men,  has  led  us  to  shelter  our- 
selves under  the  pretext  of  fearing  not  to  serve 
Him  aright."* 

It  is  stated  in  the  seventh  edition  of   the  Ency- 

*  Report  to  Bristol  and  Somerset  Quarterly  Meeting  from  its 
Committee  for  promoting  the  Christian  Interests  of  its  younger  Mem- 
bersy  p.  13. 

D   2 


1 1 


36 


QUAKEPvISlM  :    PAST  A^^D  PRESE^'T. 


RELIGIOUS  TEACHING. 


37 


clopcEdia  Britannica   that  since  the  first   generation 
of   preachers  passed  away,  the  Society  of  Friends 
has  possessed  but  few  ministers  conspicuous  for  their 
eloquence  and  general  ability,  and  that  much  of  the 
ministry  heard  in  its  meeting-houses  since  that  time 
is  justly  chargeable  with  serious  defects  of  style  and 
expression,  tending  to  obscure  the  meaning  of  the 
words  spoken,  and  thus  detracting  from  their  useful- 
ness.     Without  fully  endorsing  this  statement,  we 
are  prepared  to  admit  its  partial  truth,  and  to  grant 
that  the  quality  of  its  preaching  must  be  regarded 
as  of   great  moment  to  a  Church's  welfare.      The 
defects  complained  of  are,  we  think,  readily  trace- 
able to  the  prevalence  of  the  two  ideas,  that  intel- 
lectual attainments  are  of   little  or   no  value  to  a 
true  minister,  and  that  sermons  should  be  altogether 
unpremeditated.     As  regards  the  first  doctrine,  it  is 
similar  to  several  we  shall  encounter  in  our  examina- 
tion of  Quakerism,  an  overstrained  truth.     Scripture 
and  experience  alike  prove  that  «  head  knowledge " 
alone  is  impotent  to  make  a  man  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel  ;    but  when,  as  in  the   cases  of   Paul  or 
Apollos,  the  Divine  call  is  obeyed  by  men  of  intel- 
lectual power  and  attainment,  the  consecration  and 
employment  of   such  power  in    the  work   of   the 
ministry    is   thrice   blessed  to   the    Church.      The 


notion  that  all  true  ministry  should  be  ([uite  mi- 
premeditated,  appears  to  us  a  kindred  error,  as  it 
is  evidently  as  competent  for  the  Divine  Spirit  to 
assist  or  direct  the  consideration  of  a  subjsct  to  be 
addressed  to  an  audience  a  day  or  a  week  before  its 
delivery,  as  it  is  after  a  minister  has  taken  his  seat 
in  a  meeting,  with  his  mind  like  "a  blank  sheet."* 
It  is  one  of  those  anomalies  which  human  nature 
sometimes  presents,  that  the  body  of  Christians  pro- 
fessing the  greatest  jealousy  of  any  attempt  to  limit 
the  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  should,  never- 
theless, itself  have  fixed  such  very  narrow  bounds 
within  which  the  divine  direction  is  to  b3  exerted 
on  the  minds  of  its  ministers. 

The  neglect  of  the  "  Gift  of  Teaching "  is 
another  department  of  the  subject  now  under  con- 
sideration. This  gift  is  spoken  of  in  the  New 
Testament  as  one  distinct  from  that  of  prophesy- 
ing, or  preaching,  though  not  unfrequently  both 
services  were  entrusted  to  one  individual.  The 
gift  of  teaching  was  specially  connected  with  the 
intellectual  faculties,  that  of  prophesying  with  the 
emotional:  "Christianity,"  says  Neander,  "claimed 
for  its  service  the  faculties  of  knowledge  no  less 
than  those  of  feeling:.     Where  one  of  thescj  faculties 

*  Quoted  by  J.  J.  Gurney:  Memoirsy  2nd  ed.,  vol.  ii.  p.  112. 


n 


'¥■ 
iiii 


38  QUAKEKISM  :    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

predominated  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other,  disturb- 
ances of  the  Christian  consciousness  and  hfe  always 
ensued.     The  healthy  and  harmonious  development, 
by  virtue  of  which  all  exclusive  preponderance  of 
single  charismata  would  be  precluded,  was  one  of 
the  characteristic  features  of  the  Apostohc  period." 
Hence  care  was  taken   "  that  there  should  never  fail 
to  be  in  the  commmiities  such  as  were  qualified  to 
satisfy  the  need  of  knowledge— men  capable  of  un- 
folding and  of  defending  for  them  Christian  truth."* 
At  first  sight  it  is  difficult  to  understand  the  neglect 
of  the  gift  of  teaching  by  the   Society  of  Friends. 
George  Fox  was  not  ignorant  of  the  variety  of  gifts 
bestowed  by  the  Head  of  the  Church  on  his  people, 
and  that  all  were  not  "  apostles,"  nor  yet  "  prophets." 
Evidence  also  remains  to  show,  that  he  intended  the 
meetings  for  discipline  to  be  opportunities  in  which 
the  gift  of  teaching  might  be  exercised ;  it  is  also 
probable  that  not  a  little  that  was  communicated  in 
meetings  for  worship,  in  those  early  times,  was  more 
strictly  religious  instruction  than  direct  exhortation. 
But  from  the  indiscriminate  disparagement  of  intel- 
lectual knowledge— from  the  repeated   assertion  of 
the  early  Friends,  that  in  respect  to  the  qualifica- 
tions of  a   Gospel  minister,    "  letter   learning   was 

*  Neander's  Ch.  Hist.y  vol.  i.  p.  254. 


PRAYER. 


39 


more  frequently  hurtful  than  helpful;"*  as  well  as 
from  the  idea  that  every  public  declaration  of 
rehgious  truth  should  be  an  extempore  act  ;  doc- 
trines that  appear  to  us  overstrained  in  relation  to 
ministry,  and  quite  untenable  when  applied  to 
"religious  teaching" — it  is  not  surprising  that  this 
important  gift  has  been  very  little  exercised  amongst 
the  Friends,  and  its  neglect  has  tended  to  confirm 
that  passive  religious  condition  which  has  charac- 
terised their  religious  body  for  one  hundred  and  fifty 

years. 

"  Neither  by  then:  example  nor  their  precepts  did 
these  good  men  who  were  instrumental  in  gathering 
the  Society,  place  obstacles  or  discoui'agement  in 
the  way  of  the  exercise  of  prayer,  whether  in  the 
privacy  of  the  closet,  the  social  circle,  or  in  the 
public  assembly."!  Such  is  an  assertion,  recently 
made  in  an  official  and  widely  circulated  document. 
We  should  hesitate  before  endorsing  it,  even  if  con- 
fined to  the  writings  of  the  early  Friends,  au  the  data 
on  which  to  rest  an  opinion ;  and  on  inquiring  into 
the  actual  working  of  their  principles  respecting 
prayer,  we  are  compelled  to  believe  that  they  have 
restrained   and   limited   its   use   in   a   mariner  very 

♦  Barclay's  Apology^  p.  283,  Worship  xr. 

f  Report  of  Committee  of  York  Quarterly  Meeting  oi  the  means 
of  extending  Care  to  the  younger  Members^  1S56,  p.  8. 


n 


40 


QUAKERISM:    PAST  A2sD  TRESENT. 


SYMBOLIC  RITES. 


41 


'  V 


injurious  to  the  religious  welfare  of  individuals,  and 
to  the  maintenance  of  healthy  piety  in  the  body  at 
large.     The  doctrine  of  Robert  Barclay,  that  prayer 
can  only  be  offered  acceptably  by  the  help  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  that  of  other  professing  Christians, 
that  the  "  sense  of  need "  is  the  only  warrant  re- 
quired,  are   not  necessarily   antagonistic,   for   that 
sense  is  one  "which  the  Spirit  of  God  alone  can 
give."     But  more  than  this  sense  of  need  has  been 
looked  for  by  the  Friends,  sensible  spkitual  influence 
has  been  expected,  and  of  a  character  that  prevented 
any  previous   arrangements   as    to   time    or    place, 
though   apparently   they    are    not    less   needful   for 
ensuring  the   performance   of  this   duty  than  they 
are  for  that  of  worship.     Thus  the  habit  of  prayer 
is  not  fostered,  and  through  fear  of  praying  amiss 
some  have  refrained  from  praying  at  all,  or  at  any 
rate  with  that  frequency  and  freedom  so  essential  to 
the  Christian's  growth,  and  so  enjoined  on  an  early 
Church  by  the   great  Apostle,  "In  everything  by 
prayer  and  supplication,     ...     let  your  requests 
be  made  known  unto  God."*     This  evil  has  dimi- 
nished of  late  years,  and  the  regular  Scripture  family 
readings,  morning  and  evening,   with  the    solemn 
pause  before  and  after,  have  gone  far  to  remedy  a 

♦  Philippians  iv.  6. 


condition  of  things  alike  inimical  to  the  maintenance 
of  real  piety  in  adult  persons,  and  to  the  education  of 
the  young  in  "  good  religious  habits ; "  but  r.ot  before 
it  had  contributed  to  that  lethargy  and  stagnation 
which  crept  over  the  Society  like  a  paralysis,  in  the 
epoch  subsequent  to  the  death  of  its  founders. 

In  directing  attention  to  the  disuse  of  the  bap- 
tismal and  eucharistic  rites,  it  is  at  once  apparent 
that  whatever  judgment  be  entertained  regarding  the 
scriptural  authority  for  their  continued  observance, 
will  greatly  influence  any  opinion  that  may  be 
offered  as  to  the  effect  produced  on  the;  Society 
by  omitting  to  employ  these  "  means  oli"  grace," 
as  they  are  termed.  Those  who  believe  them  to 
be  divinely  appointed  ordinances,  the  observance  of 
which  is  permanently  obligatory  on  the  Christian 
Church,  will  expect  to  find  in  their  negle(3t,  results 
inimical  to  the  spiritual  health  of  indivldaals,  an3 
therefore  of  the  body  at  large.  But  even  were  this 
position  granted,  before  it  could  be  safely  assumed 
that  the  non-observance  of  these  ceremonies  was  a 
cause  of  the  decline  of  Quakerism,  it  would  be 
necessary"  to  prove  the  direct  modus  operandi. 

Without,  however,  entering  into  the  scriptural 
merits  of  the  controversy  in  relation  to  these  rites,  it 
may  be  alleged  without  danger  of  contradic  tion,  that, 


42  QUAKERISM  :  PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


excepting  the  Society  of  Friends,  a  very  few  other 
small  hodies  of  Christians,  and  some  isolated  uldi^^- 
duals,  the  professing  Church  from  Apostolic  times 
downwards,  whilst  greatly  divided  in  judgment,  as  to 
the  nature  and  mode  of  observing  these  rites,  has 
been  united  in  the  opinion  that  they  are  of  divine 
institution,  and  that  their  observance  is  permanently 
binding  on  the  followers  of  Christ    Whilst  neither 
this  fact,  nor  that  of  their  observance  by  the  Lord 
Jesus   himself,   is  sufficient   to   sustain   their   conti- 
nuance, if  manifestly  opposed  to  the  letter  or  spirit 
of  Scripture,  it  strongly  indicates  the  propriety  of 
modesty  and  charity  on  the  part  of  those  who  do  not 
observe  them,  especially  when  their  refusal  to  do  so 
rests  on  no  distinct  scriptural  injunction,  but  on  con- 
siderations deduced  from  the  general  scope  and  cha- 
racter  of  the    Gospel   revelation.      The   Society  of 
Friends  has  disowned  individuals  of  irreproachable 
conduct  and  undoubted   piety  (within   the   present 
century)   for   no   other  reason  than  that  of  having 
undergone  the  rite  of  baptism  under  an  apprehen- 
sion of  religious  duty.     In  such  acts  we  do  discover 
a  cause  of  decadence.     Considering  it  is  an  undis- 
puted fact  that  both  these  rites  were  largely  observed 
in  the  primitive  Church,  and  that  no  explicit  direc- 
tion was    given    as    to   their   cessation   at   a   future 


SYMBOLIC  RITES. 


43 


period;  whatever  be  our  opinions  as  to  their  ob- 
servance now,  not  being  obligatory  or  even  expe- 
dient— and  the  writer  entirely  accepts  this  view  of 
the  question;  it  must  be  conceded  that  the  disown- 
ment  of  an  individual  for  undergoing  the  rite  of 
water  baptism  is  an  infraction  of  religious  liberty, 
and  of  the  right  of  private  judgment,  by  a  Church 
w^hich  had  struggled  "  so  bravely  and  so  well "  to 
obtain  these  boons  from  the  civil  power.  The 
number  of  members  lost  on  this  ground  has  not 
been  large,  though  perhaps  somewhat  gr(jater  than 
might  be  supposed,  inasmuch  as  individuals  expect- 
ing to  derive  spiritual  benefit  from  these  lites,  have 
usually  resigned  their  membership  rather  than  subject 
themselves  to  the  censure  of  the  body. 


44 


VIEWS  OF  THE  FOUNDERS. 


45 


CHAPTER    III. 

ORIGINAL  VIEWS  OF  THE  FOUNDERS  OF  QUAKERISM 
CONNECTED  WITH  ITS  DECLINE,  C0NTINLT:D. 

Indirect  effects  of  distorted  doctrinal  views  —  Disparagement  of 
the  Reason — Fine  Arts — Scriptures — Discipline. 


**  Christianity  did  not  destroy  any  of  the  natural  distinctions 
grounded  in  the  laws  of  the  original  creation^  but  sanctified  and 
ennobled  them ;  for  our  Saviour's  words  that  he  came  not  to  destroy 
but  to  fulfil,  apply  also  to  the  natural  world." — Neander's  Church 
History,  vol.  i.  p.  247. 


Haying  in  the  preceding  chapter  treated  of  the 
Quaker  practices  directly  originating  out  of  the  pro- 
minence assigned  to  the  personal  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  we  proceed  to  inquire  into  the  more  indirect 
effects  flowing  from  the  same  source. 

The  Friends  have  always  maintained  that,  whilst 
belief  in  the  reality  of  Christ's  inward  teaching  was 
the  primary  ground  of  union  to  the  founders  of  the 
Society,  yet  that  their  acceptance  of  that  belief  came 
as  an  addition  to  their  previous  theology,  not  instead 
of  it.  Whilst  this  statement,  rightly  understood,  is 
capable  of  satisfactory  proof,  we  know  that  to  many 


who  now  read  the  writings  of  the  ^'  early  Friends," 
the  exposition  of  Christian  truth  there  presented 
does  not  appear  identical  with  that  obtained  bv  a 
simple  examination  of  the  New  Testament.  The 
fundamental  doctrines  taught  by  Fox,  Penn,  and 
Barclay,  are  the  doctrines  of  Scripture,  but  the  re- 
lative positions  respectively  assigned  those  doctrines 
differ  from  that  assigned  by  the  inspired  writers. 
The  grand  outlines  of  the  pictures  are  alike,  but 
not  the  perspective,  and  there  is  a  material  differ- 
ence in  the  filling  in,  and  in  the  colourirg  of  the 
objects.  The  inward  and  spiritual  offices  of  Christ 
are  magnified  (more  especially  by  the  two  writers 
last  named),  at  the  expense  of  his  outwar<l  appear- 
ance, as  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  of  his  vicarious 
offering  for  sin. 

This  imperfect  representation  was  principally  oc- 
casioned by  the  peculiarity  of  the  stand-poini;  occupied 
by  these  authors;  they  perceived  that  an  essential 
branch  of  Christian  faith  had  been  greatly  obscured, 
and  in  their  declaration  of  the  Gospel  message,  they 
gave  the  principal  prominence  to  the  one  doctrine 
of  which  they  were  the  expositors  and  publishers. 
When  perusing  their  ponderous  folios,  two  centuries 
after  they  were  penned,  we  must  constantly  bear  in 
mind  the  altered  position  of  religious  opinion  in  the 


li 


li 


■i 


46  QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

Church  at  the  present  time  from  what  it  was  then,  or 
we  shall  do  Fox  and  his  associates  injustice. 

When  an  error  has  to  be  combated,  the  opposing 
truth  will  probably  be  dwelt  on,  with  an  emphasis  pro- 
portionate to  the  greatness  of  its  previous  neglect— an 
emphasis  that  is  injurious  and  out  of  place,  when  the 
error  it  was  to  counteract  has  greatly  abated  or  ceased 
to  exist.     Analogous  circumstances  are  frequent  in 
the  world  of  matter,  as  well  as  of  mind:  take  the 
instance  of  tlie   sea-coast  that  has   encroached  on 
the  old  domains  of  the  ocean ;  far  inland  you  meet 
with  the  high  banks  a  brave  people  raised  against 
the  assaults  of  the  waves ;  no  billows  now  break  near 
these  banks,  but  you  not  the  less  admire  the  enter- 
prise and  spirit  of  a  race  long  since  passed  away,  in 
their  endeavours  to  guard  against  a  once  imminent 
danger.     Somewhat  analogous  was  the  position  occu- 
pied by  the  founders  of  Quakerism  in  the  religious 

world. 

It  was  a  high  attainment  the  Apostle  Paul  enjoined 
on  Timothy,  that  he  should  declare  the  truth  "  with- 
out distortion."  *  In  the  long  roll  of  the  Church's 
worthies,  how  few  there  are  who  have  successfully 
carried  out  this  inspired  injunction!  George  Fox 
and  his  colleagues  axe  no  exception  to  the  general 
*  Conybeare  and  Howson's  Translation,  Timothy  ii.  2-16. 


VIEWS   OF  THE  FOUNDERS. 


47 


experience.  They  surveyed  the  religious  state  of 
England,  and  discerned  the  inability  of  forms  and 
of  outward  macliinery  to  give  men  real  pie;ty ;  they 
believed  themselves  to  have  been  enlightened  from 
above,  when  earthly  means  had  failed ;  they  perceived 
with  great  clearness  the  difference  between  piety  and 
its  concomitants — between  tlie  building  itself  and  tlie 
mere  scaffolding  around  it;  but  they  did  rot  see  so 
clearly,  that  the  great  Master  Builder  is  usually 
pleased  to  employ  outward  means — what  may  be 
compared  to  the  scaffolding  —  in  establishing  the 
temple  of  true  piety  in  the  heart  of  man.  Seeing 
that  God  sometimes  works  immediately  by  His 
Spirit,  and  that  He  is  able  always  to  employ  this 
direct  spiritual  influence  in  drawing  souls  to  Him- 
self, it  was  argued  tliat  it  was  His  will  principally 
to  employ  this  Divine  afflatus  in  nurturing  the 
Christian  life,  to  the  disparagement  of  insbrimiental 
and  secondary  means ;  and  it  has  been  a  principal 
object  in  the  Quaker  system,  to  isolate  its  members 
from  the  influence  of  aught  that  was  su])posed  to 
divert  their  attention  from  the  inward  teachings  of 
this  heavenly  visitant,  even  though  it  might  neces- 
sitate tlie  abnegation  of  deeply  seated  elements  in 
the  constitution  of  man's  spiritual  nature. 

Had  George  Fox's  mind  been  less  influenced  by 


11 


Ill 


i 


48  QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

his  Puritan  training,  and  been  more  conversant  with 
the  history  of  the  past,  his  penetrating  intellect  would 
probably  have  discerned  that  the  attempt  to  exclude 
the  human  reason  from  the  exercise  of  its  legitimate 
prerogatives,  and  to  ignore  the  love  of  the  beautiful 
in  ai't  or  song,  was  not  merely  to  throw  away  a 
weapon   of    remarkable   potency   in   awakening    re- 
ligious sensibilities,  but  also  to  curtail  the  basis  on 
which  the  Society  rested,  and  to  contract  that  narrow 
road  which  the  Christian  must  tread  on  his  heaven- 
ward journey,  to  limits  straiter  than  those  fixed  by 
omniscient  wisdom  and  revealed  to  man.     In  one  of 
his  epistles.  Fox  says,   "  And  if  every  particular  of 
you  know  not  a  principle  within  which  is  of  God  to 
guide  you  to  wait  upon  God,  ye  are  still  in  your  own 
knowledge,  which  is  brutish  and  sensual "... 
"  and  dweUing  in  that  which  is  pure  up  to  God,  it 
commands  your  own  reason  to  keep  silent  and  to 
cast  your  own  thoughts  out."  *     George  Fox's  strong 
common  sense  saved  him  from  some  of  the  practical 
errors  his  colleagues  fell  into;  but  is  not  the  pre- 
cedinc^  extract  illustrative  of  the  existence  of   the 
theory  that  the  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are 
facilitated    by   the   entire   negation   of    the    human 
reason  ?     Whereas  (as  it  appears  to  the  writer),  the 

*  George  Fox's  Epistles,  p.  18. 


VIEWS  OF  THE  FOUNDERS. 


49 


true  position  is,  that  the  human  reason,  depraved 
by  sin,  is  renewed  and  enlightened,  and  sane  ified  by 
the  inshining  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

How  came  it,  when  musing  on  the  sacred  volume, 
for  days  and  weeks,  "in  hollow  trees  and  lonesome 
places,"  that  this  great  man  did  not  perceive  that 
the  Apostle  Paul  presented  an  eminent  example 
of  the  sanctification  of  a  powerful  intellect  to  the 
service  of  God;  —  by  what  oversight  did  he  fail 
to  recognize,  that  those  same  reasoning  faculties 
which,  in  the  unconverted  Saul  of  Tarsus,  opposed 
and  blasphemed  the  truth,  when  changed  by  the 
power  of  Divine  grace,  were  mighty  in  airgument 
with  Jew  or  Greek,  whether  in  impassioned  oratory, 
or  in  logical  written  discourses,  skilfully  using  my- 
thological literature,  and  introducing  appropriate 
allusions  to  surrounding  circumstances  ?  No  Chris- 
tian will  doubt  the  ability  of  Him  "  with  whom  all 
tilings  are  possible,"  always  to  employ  immediate 
spiritual  influence,  in  preference  to  secondary  or 
instrumental  means ;  but  the  question  is  not  whether 
God  has  the  power,  but  whether  it  is  His  will  so  to 
act;  and  this  can  be  ascertained  only  by  ar.  appeal 
to  revelation  and  experience.  It  is  the  high  privilege 
of  the  Christian  to  know  his  way  "ordered  of  the 
Lord  in  all  things ; "  but  those  who  most  fully  realize 

E 


# 


50  QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

the  truth  of  this  in  their  own  experience,  are  also 
those  who  recognize  the  existence  of  clear  and  sig- 
nificant laws  in  the  method  of  God's  spiritual  govern- 
ment.    In  tlie  words  of  a  great  livmg  philosopher, 
« the  conditions  of  existence,  not  less  than  the  matter 
and  form,  are  from  God ;  "*  and  a  clearly  manifested 
^^  condition"  of  the  Divine  government,  is  what  may 
be  termed  the  economy  of  power  that  is  displayed  in 
His  dealings  with  men.     When  personaUy  on  earth, 
the  Lord  Jesus  did  not  employ  miraculous  agency 
when  the  ordinary   powers  of  nature  were  compe- 
tent to  attain  the  required  result;  "there  was   no 
exhibition  of  things  monstrous,  there  were  no  con- 
trarieties to  the  order  of  nature,  there  was  nothing 
prodigious,  tliere  was  nothing  grotesque. "  t     J^st  so 
is  it  in  the  material  world:  God's  creative  energy 
is   in    constant    exercise,  alike   in  tlie    animal   and 
vegetable  kingdoms;  without  it  the  labour  of  the 
husbandman  were   in  vam:   but  that  man  would 
be    rightly    regarded    as  insane,    who   in   order   to 
give   fiill   scope   to    this    creative    energy    left    his 
fields  uncultivated.     In  like  manner  the  operations 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  human  heart,  constantly 
progress    harmoniously    and    consentaneously  with 

•  Natural  History  of  Enthusiasm,  p.  55. 
f  Restoration  of  Belief,  p.  231. 


FINE  ARTS,  ETC. 


51 


the  exercise  of  the  mental  faculties.  God  does  not 
supersede  His  own  works ;  on  the  contrary.  He  en- 
joins the  active  healthy  play  of  the  human  reason, 
and  to  those  so  using  it,  is  best  known  the  limited 
range  of  its  powers  when  exercised  on  the  :!'elations 
of  man  to  his  Creator,  and  they  most  gi'atefully 
accept  of  that  omnipotent  strength,  which  hi  merci- 
fully granted  in  consideration  of  man's  ne(3d.  An 
unhealthy  disparagement  of  outward  means  in  the 
culture  of  the  religious  life,  showed  itself  during  the 
lives  of  the  founders  of  Quakerism;  and  we  shall 
hereafter  see  that,  as  counteracting  influences  were 
withdrawn,  it  was  still  further  developed  in  a  manner 
most  prejudicial  to  the  health  of  the  body. 

The  attitude  assumed  by  the  Friends  towards  the 
fine  arts,  furnishes  another  evidence  (as  it  appears 
to  the  writer)  of  their  imperfect  apprehension  of  the 
dignity  of  all  the  feelings  and  emotions,  originally 
implanted  by  the  Creator  in  the  constitution  of  man. 
George  Fox  writes,  "  I  was  moved  also  to  cry 
against  all  sorts  of  music,"  for  it  "  burdened  the  pure 
life."  *  "  The  Quaker,"  says  Bancroft,  "  distrusts  the 
fine  arts,  they  are  so  easily  perverted  to  purposes  of 
superstition  and  the  delight  of  the  senses."  f     Whilst 

*  Fox's  Journal,  p.  25. 

t  Histort/  of  U.  S.,  Bancroft,  vol.  ii  p.  606. 

E  a 


52  QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

the  primitive  Quakers  did  not  purpose  absolutely  to 
banish  these  pursuits  from  the  homes  of  themselves 
and    their    successors,   they   so   far    restrained    the 
development   of   the   aesthetic   element,   that   acting 
in  conjunction  with  the  general  subjective  character 
of  the  system,  Quakerism  became  (what  the  French 
denominate)  a  Sp(^cialitd,  without  the  elastic,  adap- 
tative  qualities,  which  fit  Christianity  for  every  tribe 
of  men,  from  the  impassible  matter-of-fact  Dutch- 
man, to  the  sensuous,  impulsive  Negro.     Here,  we 
imagine,  lies  the  secret  why  Quakerism  has  made 
no  progress   amongst  the   aboriginal   tribes   it  has 
befriended— amongst  the  Negroes  whose  liberties  it 
has  struggled  for— or  (with  trivial  exceptions)  any- 
where beyond  the  limits  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  family ; 
and  also  why  it  has  not  proved  a  congenial  home  to 
that   large    class  of   persons  whose   characters  are 
rather  emotional,  than  intellectual  or  reflective. 

Perhaps,  from  its  foundation,  the  difference  be- 
tween  the  leaders  of  the  Society  of  Friends  and 
other  Christians,  respecting  Holy  Scripture,  existed 
more  in  language  and  manner  of  expression  than 
in  substance  and  reality.  Very  many  of  the  early 
Quakers,  as  is  evident  from  their  writings,  were 
deeply  versed  in  the  inspired  volume  and  most  highly 
prized  it ;    though  they  rebelled  against  the  legal 


HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 


53 


statute-book    light    in   which   it   was    held,   by   the 
Puritans,  and  not  very  unfrequently  used  by  them 
whilst  in  power  as  a  shield  for  cruelty  and  intole- 
rance.     The   controversy,   whether    the  Scriptures 
be  the  primary  rule  of  faith  and  practics    or  the 
secondary,  is  of  smaller  importance  tlian  appears  at 
first  sight,  when  the  defenders  of  the  latter  position 
heartily  admit  that  they  "do  look  upon  them"  (the 
Scriptures)  as  the  only  fit  outward  judge  of  contro- 
versies among  Christians,  and  that  whatsoever  doctrine 
is  contrary  unto  their  testimony  may  thereibre  justly 
be  regarded  as  false.    And  "  for  our  own  parts,"  adds 
Barclay,  "  we  are  very  willing  that  all  our  doctrines 
and  practices  be  tried  by  them ;  which  we  never  re- 
fused, nor  ever  shall,  in  all  controversies  with  our 
adversaries,  as  the  judge  and  test.     We  shall  also  be 
very  willing  to  admit  it  as  a  positive,  certain  maxim, 
that  whatsoever   any   do,  pretending   to  tlie  Spirit, 
which  is  contrary  to  the  Scriptures,  be  accounted  and 
reckoned  a  delusion  of  the  devil."  *    The  controversy 
that  has  been  maintained  on  this  point  is  analogous  to 
one  we  may  imagine  by  way  of  hypothesis  between 
two  Englishmen — as  to  whether  the  three  estates  of 
this  realm,  or  the  laws  they  enact,  shall  be  (Considered 
the  primary  rule  of  faith  and  practice  in  tilings  civil. 
♦  Barclay,  Prop,  on  Scriptures,  p.  80. 


Pi 


1'^ 


54  QUAKERISM;   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

It  appears  to  us  that  the  practical  consequences  differ 
hardly  at  all,  between  the  man  who  obeys  the  laws  as 
liis  rule,  and  he  who  holds  the  more  comprehensive 
theory,  that  whilst  doing  nothing  contrary  to  the  laws, 
he  yet  must  revere  the  Queen,  Lords,  and  Commons 
that  enacted  them  more  than  the  laws  themselves. 
It  was  the  reaction  against  the  judicial  reception  of 
the  Bible  by  the  Puritans,  that  made  the  early  Friends 
so  emphatic  in  affirming  that  "  the  Spirit  which  gave 
forth  the  Scriptures  was  greater  than  the  Scriptures." 
But  when  the  Puritans,  as  a  party,  were  extinct,  the 
result  of  having  strongly  pushed  this  doctrme  was 
felt  injuriously  by  the  Society  of  Friends.     A  tradi- 
tional mode  of  expression  was  maintained  towards  the 
Bible,  no  longer  called  for,  that  occasioned  some  to 
think  it  a  part  of  their  profession  to  avoid  the  regular 
daily  reading  of  Holy  Scripture.     The  Bible  is  not 
read  in  meetings  for  divine  worship ;  and  masmuch 
as  the  careless  and  indifferent  will  ever  neglect  its 
sacred  contents,  when  no   systematic   arrangements 
exist  for  bringing  them  formally  under  notice,  either 
in  the  public  assemblies  for  the  worship  of  God,  or  in 
social  gatherings  for  the  like  purpose,  it  may  easily 
be  understood  how  considerable  was  the  deficiency  of 
intelligent  scriptural  knowledge  which  existed  in  the 
Society  previous  to  the  close  of  last  century;  at  which 


DISCIPLINE. 


55 


period  the  daily  family  reading  of  the  mspir^d  volume 
was  recommended  by  London  Yearly  Me(3ting,  and 
this  practice  has  been  generally  adopted.  The  de- 
fective acquaintance  with  Scripture  has  been  officially 
recognized  as  a  chief  occasion  of  the  desolating  here- 
sies  which,  within  the  last  sixty  years,  have  swept 
away  so  many  thousand  members  in  Ireland  and 
America. 

Connected  with  this  branch  of  our  subject  is  the 
working  of  the   Quaker    system  of   "  Discipline," 
or  church  government.     George  Fox  commenced  its 
definite    organization    in   1667,  and    devcted    much 
time  and   labour  to  its  elaboration   during   the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.      The  report  of  the  ''  religious 
census"  of  1851  puts  in  a  few  sentences   the  main 
features  of  the  system.     "  The  whole  community  of 
Friends  is  modelled  somewhat  on  the  Presbyterian 
system.     Three  gradations  of  meetings  oi'  synods — 
monthly,  quarterly,  and  yearly — administei:  the  affairs 
of  the  Society,  including  in  their  supervision  matters 
both  of  spiritual  discipline  and  secular  policy.     The 
monthly  meetings,  composed  of  all  the  congregations 
within  a  definite  circuit,  judge  of  the  fitness  of  new 
candidates  for  membership,  supply  certificates  to  such 
as  move  to  other  districts,  choose  fit  persons  to  be 
elders,  to  watch  over  the  ministry,  attempt  the  refor- 


56 


QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND   PRESENT. 


DISCIPLINE. 


57 


m 


mation  or  pronounce  the  expulsion  of  all  sucli  as  walk 
disorderly,  and  generally  seek  to  stimulate  the  mem- 
bers to  religious  duty.     They  also  make  provision  for 
the  poor  of  the  Society,  and  secure  the  education  of 
their  children.     Overseers  are  also  appointed  to  assist 
in  the  promotion  of  these  objects.    At  monthly  meet- 
ings also  marriages  are  sanctioned  previous  to  their 
solemnization   at   a    meeting  for   worship.     Several 
monthly  meetings  compose  a  quarterly  meeting,  to 
which  they  forward  general  reports  of  their  condition, 
and  at  which  appeals  are  heard  from  their  decisions. 
The  yearly  meeting  holds  the  same  relative  position 
to  the  quarterly  meetings  that  the  latter  do  to  the 
monthly  meetings,  and  has  the  general  superintendence 
of  the  Society  in  a  particular  comitry."*  George  Fox 
says  that  his  object  in  the  organization  of  this  system 
of  church  government  was  "  the  promotion  of  piety 
and  virtue."     These  are  general  terms;    and   there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  he  foresaw  several  important 
ends  that  might  be  attained  by  these  frequent  meet- 
ings for  other  purposes  than  religious  worship,   as 
the  efficient  relief  of  the  poor,  the  succouring  of  the 
persecuted  and  dowTi-trodden,  as  well  as  the  several 
matters  mentioned  in  the  preceding  extract,  and  others 
which  we  shall  hereafter  consider ;  but  perhaps  more 

♦  Bepori  of  Religious  Census,  p.  65. 


powerful  than  any  other  consideration  that  influenced 
his  mind,  was  the  perception  he  had  of  the  necessity 
that  existed  for  putting  a  restraint  on  the  proceedings 
of  some  injudicious  but  ardent  followers.  This  may 
be  inferred  from  his  own  writings,  and  the  strenuous 
opposition  offered  to  the  establishment  of  "  Meetings 
for  Discipline  "  by  a  number  of  the  more  enthusiastic 
spirits  in  the  Society  is  strong  corroborative  tsstimony. 
The  first  effect  the  "  Discipline  "  had  on  the  body  at 
lartre,  was  (if  we  may  use  so  mechanical  a  simile)  not 
unlike  that  occasioned  by  the  addition  of  a  fly-wheel 
to  a  powerful  but  irregularly  acting  macliine — there 
was  some  loss  of  power,  but  more  than  an  e  quivalent 
gain  in  the  greater  regularity  of  action  induced.  A 
check  w^as  put  on  the  proceedings  of  parties  whose 
zeal  outran  their  knowledge.  At  the  period  of  which 
w^e  now  write,  "  membership,"  in  the  modern  sense  of 
the  term,  was  unknown  in  the  Society.  Fox's  views 
were  far  more  extensive  than  the  mere  founding  of  a 
sect:  as  before  remarked,  he  aimed  at  nothing  less 
than  the  reformation  of  the  entire  Church :  tius,  in  his 
Epistles  he  hardly  appears  to  address  the  Friends  as  a 
sectional  body  of  Christians,  they  are  '^th(;  children 
of  light,  in  scorn  by  the  world  called  Quakers,"  ^'  the 
church  of  God,"  &c.  Thus  wishing  to  include  all 
within  its  pale,  it  w^ould  have  been  contrgxy  to  the 


58 


QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


DISCIPLINE. 


59 


11 


genius  of  primitive  Quakerism  to  have  made  a  definite 
statement  as  to  who  were  "  members  "  and  who  were 
not:  the  habitual  attendance  at  their  religious  meetings 
was  the  only  popular  test  which  indicated  who  were 
to  be  regarded  as  "  Friends ;  "  and  persons  so  attend- 
ing, of  every  shade  of  religious  experience  and  of  all 
degrees  of  earnestness,  were  blended  together,  though 
the  incessant  persecution  which  attended  the  Society 
in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  country,  for  the  first  forty  years 
of  its  history,  generally  prevented  the  long-continued 
adhesion  of  the  lukewarm  and  indifferent     Widely 
differing  from  the  promiscuous  gatherings  for  divine 
worship  were  the  first  "Meetings  for  Discipline:" 
they   were   not   popular    assemblies  ;    children    and 
young  people  did  not  sit  in  them  as  they  do  now ; 
but  "  two  or  three  true  and  faithful  Friends  "  from 
each    particular    meeting    constituted   the    monthly 
meetings;    and  George  Fox  is  still  more  precise  in 
defining  fit  constituents  for  the  quarterly  meetings, 
which,  says  he,  are   to  be   made  up  "of  weighty^ 
seasoned,  and  substantial  Friends,  that  understand 
the  business  of  the  church ;  for  no  unruly  or  unsea- 
soned person  should  come  there,  nor  indeed  to  the 
monthly  meeting,  but  those  who  are  single-hearted, 
seasoned,  and  honest"  *    To  these  meetings  ministers 

♦  Fox's  Epistles,  p.  29a 


(if  personally  unknown  in  the  parts  they  \^ished  to 
visit)  must  apply  for  certificates,  "to  pre\ent  any 
bad  spirits  that  may  scandalize  honest  men."  In 
examining  into  the  actual  business  transacted  in  these 

CD 

church  meetings,  as  we  may  style  them,  it  is  remark- 
able how  large  a  part  of  it  was  connected  with  the 
relief  of  the  persecuted — of  those  in  prison,  or  their 
destitute  families.  The  early  Friends  merit  a  passing 
tribute  of  high  praise,  for  their  affectionate  care  of  one 
another  in  those  dark  days  of  grinding  persecution. 
A  recent  author  *  has  pointed  out,  that  one  effect  of 
the  severe  persecutions  of  the  Friends  in  the  seven- 
teenth century  was  largely  to  call  out  their  c  iiaritable 
feelings  for  one  another,  and  so  to  induce  the  for- 
mation of  a  most  intimate  fellowship  between  different 
classes  of  persons.  The  liberal  extension  of  pecuniary 
aid  to  the  sufferers  by  their  richer  brethren  appears 
to  have  operated  as  a  temptation  to  some  designing 
parties  to  join  themselves  to  tlie  Quaker  community, 
even  in  time  of  persecution,  through  sordid  motives, 
whilst  they  contrived  to  escape  the  sufferings  incident 
to  such  a  profession.  It  is  an  interesting  coincidence 
that  a  similar  abuse  is  mentioned  by  historiajis  of  the 
primitive  Church.  These  circumstances  pjived  the 
way  for  the  introduction   of   a  system  bv  which 

*  W.  Tanner's  Lectures,  p.  77. 


60 


QUAKERISM  :     PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


RELIEF  OF  THE  POOR. 


61 


III 


every  poor    member  receives   pecuniary    relief   in 
case  of  need,  and  education  for  liis  cliildren  at  the 
expense  of  the  meeting  in  which  he  resides,  or  has 
«  a  settlement."     The  rules  for  determining  this  set- 
tlement are  of  a  precise  and  somewhat  comphcated 
character.      So  early  as  1693,  mention  is  made  in 
the   Yearly  Meeting's  Epistle  of  poor   "  Friends " 
coming  to  reside  in  London  from  the  country  dis- 
tricts   and  being  burdensome   to   the   metropolitan 
meetings.*     We  here  notice  the  origin  of  the  diffi- 
culty more  largely  felt  afterwards,  when  charitable 
feelings  were   colder,  as   to  who  were   the   parties 
equitably  chargeable  with  the  duty  of  maintaining 
the  poor,  when  such  changed  their   residence,  and 
moved  to  another  meeting.     The  "  Rules  of  Settle- 
ment" were  adopted  by  the  Yearly  Meeting  to  meet 
the  different  emergencies.      It  is  indicative  of  the 
trouble  imposed  on  that  assembly  by  these  questions, 
that  in  1740  it  bound  itself  by  a  regulation,  not  to  en- 
tertain any  proposition  for  altering  these  rules,  unless 
brought  before   it  by  a  distinct  minute  of  a  quar- 
terly meeting.t     The  influence  of  this  legal  adminis- 
tration of  the  Church's  charity  to  its  poor  has  not 
been  unattended  with  injurious  results.      In   some 

♦  Yearly  Meeting  Epistles,  p.  81. 
t  Bules  of  Discipline,  p.  237. 


parts  of  the  country  it  is  but  too  e\ident,  that  during 
the  eighteenth  century  the  rehef  of  the  poor  was 
regarded  much  more  in  the  light  of  a  duty  (to  use  a 
mild  expression)  than  of  a  privilege ;  and  it  is  possible 
that  the  fact  of  a  person  being  indigent,  may  sometimes 
have  weighed  to  his  disadvantage,  when  a  monthly 
meeting  has  been  deliberating  as  to  his  reception  into 
membership.      But  much  more  deeply  maiked  has 
been  the  influence  of  this   systematic  relief  of  the 
poor  on  themselves,  than  on  their  benefactors.    When 
a  family  of  childi-en  have  received  a  boarding-school 
education  at  the  expense  of  the   Society,  it  has  not 
unfrequently  happened  that  such  yomig  persons  have 
been  placed  in  a  false  position,  contracted  habits  and 
formed  associations  unsuited  to  the  circumstances  of 
their  family,  and,  relying  on  the  knowledge  that  they 
would  be  supported,  if  it  came  to  the  woi'st,  have 
nedected  to  take  such  situations  and  to  follow  such 
callings,  as  their  position  in  life  indicated  to  be  appro- 
priate for  them.      And  this  association  of  "  temporal 
advantage  with  membership  in  the  Church  "  has  not 
only   acted  prejudicially  on  the  Society  itself,  but 
has  also   operated  in  repelling   the   poor  from    its 
borders.     With  that  sense  of  honour  that  is  often 
foimd  amongst  the  conscientious  poor,   we  are   not 
surprised  to  learn  from  good  authorities,  that  work- 


62 


QUAKERISM  :    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


DISCIPLINE. 


63 


ing  men  are  deterred  from  seeking  membersliip  with 
the  Friends  by  the  fear  of  being  charged  with  in- 
terested motives.* 

Ketuming  to  the  more  immediate  consideration  of 
the  ecclesiastical  machinery  established  by  George 
Fox,  the  point  that  attracts  our  closest  attention  is 
its  non-aggressive  character,  being  the  exact  reverse 
of  the  organization  adopted  by  John  Wesley  in  the 
Methodist  societies.  It  is  justly  remarked  by  the 
philosophic  exponent  of  Wesley  and  Methodism,  that 

*  In  the  thirty  years  1828-1857,  the  sum  expended  by  York 
Quarterly  Meeting  of  Friends  in  the  relief  and  maintenance  of 
its  poor  members  was  20,830/.  lis.  6rf.,  or  694/.  per  year.  The 
number  of  members  during  the  period  was  two  thousand  four 
hundred,  the  payment  requiring  a  contribution  of  five  and  nine- 
pence  per  year  from  each  member. 

In  a  return  made  by  the  Poor-Law  Commissioners  to  the  last 
session  of  ParUament,  it  is  stated  that  during  the  twenty-four 
years  1834-1858,  the  sum  expended  in  England  and  Wales  for  the 
relief  of  the  poor  had  averaged  six  and  twopence  per  year  on  the 
estimated  population.  In  neither  case  do  the  figures  include  pay- 
ments made  from  charitable  endowments,  or  for  other  purposes 
than  the  relief  of  the  poor. 

In  comparing  the  relief  given  to  members  of  the  Society  of 
Friends  with  that  obtained  from  the  poor-law  union,  we  may 
safely  assume  that,  under  like  circumstances  of  destitution,  the  pay- 
ment made  by  the  Friends  would  be  three  times  greater  than  that 
made  by  the  parish  officer;  and  seeing  that  the  contribution  made 
by  them  is  less  per  head,  it  follows  that  the  Society  of  Friends 
has  not  more  than  one-third  part  of  the  pauperism  which  exists 
in  the  population  at  large— York  Quarterly  Meeting  fairly  repre- 
senting the  circumstances  of  the  entire  Society  in  England  and 
Wales. 


the  organization  of  that  system  is  "  expansi\  e,"  that 
of  Quakerism  "  seclusive."  We  regard  this  as  having 
been  a  powerful  cause  of  the  Society's  first  sts.tionary, 
then  retrograde  condition — one  that  has  been  in  opera- 
tion almost  from  its  origin  to  the  present  time.  To 
avail  ourselves  further  of  the  volume  just  quoted 
from  :  "  In  the  Wesleyan  community,  orgs  nization 
has  always  had  one  intention — namely,   systematic 

labour No  Wesleyan  Methodist  (-when  tlie 

system  has  had  its  free  course)  falls  out  of  notice,  or 
is  suffered  to  lapse  into  forgetfiilness,  or  h  left  an 
inert  fragment,  not  partaking  of  the  momentum  of 
the  mass."  Isaac  Taylor  adds  that  this  orgaiization, 
**  comprehensive  in  the  most  absolute  sense,  as  to 
persons,  gifls,  talents,  and  worldly  means,''  is  that 
wliich  has  given  to  Wesleyan  Methodism  a  greater 
amount  of  success  than  has  attended  "the  equally 
zealous  endeavours   of  other  bodies.*  f     -^^^  l^^w 

*   Wesley  and  Methodisniy  p.  272. 

f  A  pertinent  illustration  of  the  effect  of  this  systematic  labour 
in  identifying  an  individual  with  the  interests  of  a  Church,  came 
under  the  author's  notice  during  the  preparation  of  tlie  present 
essay.  In  the  sketch  that  Thomas  Cooper  (the  author  of  the 
Purgatory  of  Suicides)  has  been  giving,  in  different  towns,  during 
the  last  few  months,  of  his  early  history  and  experience,  he 
stated  that  when,  as  a  young  man,  circumstances  had  attracted 
him  to  the  Church  of  England,  his  union  with  it  was  not  cemented 
because  they  "  gave  him  nothing  to  do  ; "  and  subsequently  he 
was  drawn  towards  the  Wesleyans,  who  furnished  him  \rith  ample 
means  for  the  development  of  his  energies. 


64 


QUAKERISM  :    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


DISCIPLINE. 


65 


widely  different  is  it  from  the  Quaker  organization, 
which  assigns  hardly  any  work  to  a  large  number  of 
those  who  attend  "  Meetings  for  Discipline."      It  is 
only   incidentally  that  the  principle   of  aggression 
exists   there   at   all.      The    zeal   of    the    individual 
preachers  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
the  sole  incentive  to  "  Missionary  enterprise  '* — the 
intention  or  wish  to  engage  in  such  a  service — the 
"  concern "  of  the  minister  (to  use  the  conventional 
phrase) — is  laid  before  the  meeting,  and  if  approved 
of,  a  certificate  of  unity  and  approbation  is  granted. 
When  the  preacher's  views  are  cordially  entered  into, 
the  possession  of  the  Church's  symj^athy  and  prayers 
is  encouraging  and  sustaining;  and  at  the  time  the  dis- 
cipline was  established,  when,  in  spite  of  the  number 
of  ministers  incarcerated  in  all  the  gaols  of  England, 
others   remained  in  sufficient    numbers  to   continue 
their  travels  and  their  preachings  in  every  part  of  the 
British  Isles,  in  Holland,  Germany,  and  other  parts 
of  Europe,  in  the  West  Indies,  and  in  the  North 
American    colonies,   not   to   mention   embassies   for 
the  spiritual  enlightenment  of  the  Sultan  Mahomet, 
or  the  occupant  of  the  Papal  Chair — at  this  period 
the  influence  of  the  disciplinary  meetings  in  regu- 
lating,  without    repressing,   the   zeal   of   the   early 
preachers  was  useful ;    but  the  period  of  fervour 


and  of  glowing  zeal  did  not  continue  mere  than 
fifty  years.  In  the  Society  of  Friends  th<i  execu- 
tive power,  as  already  stated,  rests  in  the  monthly 
meetings — not  in  the  central  body;  and  conse- 
quently neither  the  evils  nor  the  benefits  of  a 
system  of  centralized  authority  have  been  felt. 
History  proves  that  such  a  system  is  best  iitted  for 
the  prosecution  of  an  active  propagandism  :  the 
Quaker  polity  is  the  reverse  of  this,  lience  a 
main  reason  of  its  failure  as  an  instrumentality  for 
obtaining  proselytes. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  review  the  respective 
merits  of  a  seclusive  or  of  an  expansive  form  of 
church  government,  nor  to  consider  which  most 
accords  with  the  spirit  of  Christianity.  We  are 
awai'e  many  of  the  Friends  would  argue,  that  it 
was  a  chief  recommendation  of  their  svstem,  that 
the  machinery  ceases  to  work  when  the  life  and 
spirit,  which  should  be  the  main-spring,  cease  to 
exist.  Into  this  question  it  is  without  our  pro- 
vince to  enter— we  merely  draw  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  ecclesiastical  polity  of  the  Society  is- 
not  calculated  to  widen  the  sphere  of  its  iniluence ;, 
it  does  not  affect  the  world  without,  and  so  is  power^ 
less  as  a  proselytizing  engine. 

Yet   it  must  not  be   overlooked,  that  whilst  thi» 


66 


QUAKERISM  :    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


CIRCULAR  YEARLY  MEETINGS,  ETC. 


67 


P    rjf 


'W 


M    ! 


M  ! 


;, 


has  been   the   case   for   a  lengthened   period,   then- 
founder  did  contemplate  a  wider  range   of  service 
for  "meetings  for   discipline"  than  they  have  ac- 
tually occupied.      He  intended  them  to  have  been 
agencies  for  spreading  the  doctrines  of  the  Friends, 
and  he   instituted   periodic    gatherings   in   different 
parts  of  the  country,  termed  "  Circular  Yearly  Meet- 
ings," havmg  some  points  of  resemblance  with  the 
Methodist  "camp    meetings"   of   a  later  date,   at 
which  great  numbers  of  people— sometimes  counted 
by  thousands— were   assembled  from   extensive  dis- 
tricts of  country  ;   the  services  lasted  from  one  to 
three  days,  and  were  conducted  by  the  most  able 
and   popular  ministers— "  Public   Friends,"   as  they 
are   oddly   denominated  in  the    antique  records  of 
these  proceedings.     Not  unfrequently,  too,  the  quar- 
terly  meetings   partook   of    a  hke    chai'acter:    one 
day  being   devoted  to  religious  meetings  with  the 
Friends  and   the  general  public   united,  whilst   on 
the  succeeding  day  the  affairs  of  the  Society  would 
be  transacted  m  a  select   assembly,    constituted   as 
abeady  described.      But   as   the    aggressive    spirit 
passed  away,  these    provisions    for    acting  on   the 
masses  of  the  population  were  abused,  fell  into  dis- 
repute, and  were  discontinued.     The  early  "  meet- 
ings for  disciplme"  were  also  intended  to  afford  op- 


portunities for  the  exercise  of  the  gift  of,  "  t<3aching  " 
by  those  Friends  who  did  not  speak  as  ministers; 
and  we  leani  from  Wight's  History  of  Friends  in 
Ireland,  and  from  other  sources,  how  va]:ied  and 
useful  were  the  services  rendered  to  the  Sociiety  and 
especially  to  its  younger  members,  sometim(;s  by  the 
establishment  of  meetings  for  the  reading  of  religious 
books,  by  frequent  social  visits,  by  deputations  from 
monthly  and  quarterly  meetings  to  the  homes  of  their 
members,  and  by  other  means.  Very  mucli  of  tliis 
interesting  phase  of  the  Society's  internal  economy 
passed  away  in  the  "  middle  ages  "  of  its  history — 
at  the  very  time,  let  it  be  observed,  when  the  oral 
instruction  imparted  in  "  meetings  for  worship  "  was 
greatly  diminished,  from  the  fe^vness  of  jreachers 
as  compared  with  the  previous  epoch. 


F   2 


68 


NUMERICAL  STRENGTH  IX   1680. 


69 


I 


'i 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Numerical  strength  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  16S0-Its  pro- 
portion to  the  general  population— Emigration— Number  of 
Friends  in  1800,  1847,  and  1856. 


"Important  lessons  with  reference  to  the  physical  and  moral 
condition  of  any  people,  are  derived  from  the  investigation  of  those 
great  events  in  human  life,  which  are  the  subjects  of  registration, 
viz.  births,  marriages,  and  deaths.'*— Saswej.  Tuke. 


The  death  of  George  Fox  marks  tlie  close  of  the 
first  epoch  in  Quaker  history.  Here,  then,  we  pause 
to  inquire  what  was  the  number  of  persons  who  had 
accepted  his  exposition  of  Christian  truth,  and  iden- 
tified themselves  with  the  new  Society. 

The  essential  conditions  of  the  inquiry  preclude  the 
attainment  of  a  result  ai'ithmeticaUy  exact  No  attempt 
at  defining  membership  witli  the  Socieiy  of  Friends 
was  made  until  nearly  a  century  after  its  origin; 
previous  to  that  time,  attendance  at  its  meetings 
for  worship  was  tlie  popular  test  for  determining 
religious  profession.     The  number  of  persons  so  far 


*^  convinced "  as  sometimes  to  attend  the  meetings 
of  the  Friends,  and  to  unite  with  them  in  par- 
ticulai'  efforts — as  in  opposing  tithes,  church-rates, 
military  service,  &c. — ^>vas  very  large ;  and  so  early 
as  1659  petitions  were  presented  to  Parliament  for 
the  abolition  of  tithes,  signed  by  about  fifteen  thou- 
sand men  and  upwards  of  seven  thousand  women. 

The  Society  does  not  appear  at  any  tims  to  have 
ascertained  officially  the  number  of  persons  in  pro- 
fession with  it,  though  from  its  origin  it  has  kept 
careful  records  of  births,  deaths,  and  marriages;* 
but  two  statements,  made  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tmy  by  contemporary  authors,  throw  sc>me  light 
upon  the  question.  In  the  Snahe  in  the  Grass,  a 
volume  published  by  a  hostile  anonymous  author  in 
1696,  it  is  incidentally  mentioned  that  "the  Quakers 
are  not  fewer,  by  the  lowest  computation,  than  one 
hundred  thousand  here  in  England,  "f  In  Dal- 
rymple's  Memoirs,  we  find  that  when  "  King  Wil- 
liam (III.)  was  engaged  in  liis  project  of  n^conciling 
the  religious  differences  of  England,  he  was  at  great 
pains  to  find  out  the  proportions  between  church- 
men, dissenters,  and  papists."  In  the  reports  pre- 
sented to  the  King  on  this  subject,  the  total  number 
of  Protestant  nonconformists  is  given  at  one  hundred 

*  See  Note  1  at  the  end  of  chapter,  p.  77. 
t  Snake  in  the  Grass^  2nd  edition,  p.  245. 


u 


i!! 


Si 


■I 


70 


QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT, 


NUMERICAL  STRENGTH  IN   1680. 


71 


11 


and   eight   thousand   six    hundred    and    seventy-six 
above  the  age  of  sixteen  (double   that  number,  in- 
cluding children,  it  is  stated).     Unfortunately,   the 
numbers    of   the   different    denominations    are    not 
specified;    but   excluding    some    insignificant   sects, 
it  is  generally  stated  that  the  four  chief  bodies  of 
dissenters,  "  the  Presbyterians,  the  Anabaptists,  the 
Independents,  and  Quakers,  were  about  equal  in  num- 
bers."*    This  would  give  about  fifty  thousand  as  the 
number  of  tlie  Friends,  one-half  less  than  the  state- 
ment of  the  author  previously  quoted.     The  Snake 
in  the  Grass  was  written  with  the  desire  to  excite 
persecution;   and  it  is  probable  the  wish   to  alarm 
the  public  mind,  induced  the  author  to  exaggerate 
the  real  number  of  his  opponents ;  on  the  other  hand, 
it  is  not  unlikely  that  from   the   returns  fuiiiished 
to  William  III.  being  compiled   by  parties  wishful 
to   magnify   the   strength  of  the   National   Church, 
and  to   depreciate  that  of  dissenters,  the  numbers 
of  the  latter  class  are  under-stated.     A  close  exami- 
nation of  the  tables,  and  a  comparison  of  them  w^th 
other  sources  of  information,  convince  us  that  this 
is  the  case,  especially  in  the  ecclesiastical  province 
of  York.t      The    Society's   register   of    marriages  J 
soleimiized   in   its   meeting-houses,  will   help   us   to 

*  Dalrymple^s  Memoirs^  Appendix,  chap.  i.  part  ii.  p.  39. 
t  See  Note  2,  p.  77.  %  ^ee  Note  3,  p.  77. 


estimate    the   respective   value   of    these   conflicting 

statements. 

From  the  subjoined  tables,*  procured  from  the 
records  of  the  Society  at  Devonshire  House,  London, 
it  will  be  observed  that  the  greatest  numb(jr  of  mar- 
riages reported  as  solemnized  in  Friends'  meeting- 
houses, was  in  the  ten  years  1670-79;  averaging 
282  per  annum.  The  effect  of  tlie  great  emigration 
to  America  becomes  apparent  immediately  after- 
wards. Admitting  that  one  marriage  per  year  oc- 
curred amongst  140  f  persons,  it  might  be  supposed 
that  40,000  (the  rough  result  of  multiplying  282 
by  140)  represented  the  number  of  the  irriends  in 
England  and  Wales  in  1680.  We  believe,  however, 
this  number  to  be  considerably  below  the  reality. 
Entire  reliance  cannot  be  placed  on  these  early  re- 
cords ;  soine  are  known  to  be  lost,  and  a  scrutinizing 
examination  of  the  figures  J  convinces  us  that  the 
retinrns  from  some  districts  must  be  incomplete — a 
conclusion  that  is  confirmed  by  a  comparison  of  the 
numbers  of  marriages  reported  by  the  diffei'ent  coun- 
ties, with  the  numbers  of  signatures  to  th(3  women's 
petition  of  1659  within  similar  geographical  limits. 
It  is  also  known  that  many  persons  who  worshipped 

*  See  Notes  5  and  6,  pp.  80,  81.        f  ^^^  ^^^^  ^y  P-  ^^• 
X  See  Notes  1,  6,  and  9,  pp.  77,  81,  and  8^;. 


m 


72 


QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


EMIGRATION. 


73 


with  the  Friends,  and  in  the  main  held  their  reli- 
gious principles,  shrunk  from  having  their  marriages 
solemnized  in  a  manner  which  left  the  legal  validity 
of  these  unions  doubtful,  and  exposed  character  and 
estate   to   the   painful   consequences  of  such  doubt. 
Making   allowance  for   these   and   other  sources  of 
error,   we  believe   that  an  addition  of  from  fifteen 
to   twenty   thousand    must    be    made    to   the   forty 
thousand   already  mentioned,  in   order  to  give  the 
correct  total  of  persons  "professing"  with  the  Friends 
in  Endand  and  Wales  in  the  year  1680.    Statistics 
are  regarded  so  much  in  the  light  of  an  infliction 
by  the  popular  mind,  that  we  will  not  detain  the 
reader   by  enlarging  on   the  different  items  of  evi- 
dence  that   might   be   adduced   in    suppoii   of    the 
position,    that    there    were    not    fewer    than    sixty 
thousand  persons    in  England  and  Wales   "  of  the 
persuasion   of   the    people    called     Quakers,''    at    a 
period  somewhat  anterior  to  that  of  George  Fox's 
death.*     When  we  remember  that  four  thousand  two 
hundred  Friends,  some  accomits  say  five  thousand, 
were  in  prison  at  once  in  1660  (mostly  adult  men),  or 
examine  into  the  number  of  official  documents  printed 
for  circulation,  or  into  the  numbers  of  meeting-houses 
and  burial-grounds,   or  notice  how  nmnerous  were 

♦  See  Note  9,  p.  83. 


Quaker  sailors  (sometimes  so  many  in  bondage  in 
Algiers  as  to  constitute  a  considerable  sized  meeting), 
or  read  the  repeated  statements  of  "  the  grciat  spread 
of  truth"  in  the  early  journals, — at  times  nearly 
*^  the  whole  village "  or  district  ^'  coming  to  be  con- 
vinced,"— we  see  how  very  large  was  the  number  of 
the  Friends  then  living  in  England.  If  an  addition 
of  six  thousand  *  be  made  on  account  of  Ireland  and 
Scotland,  it  will  give  us  a  total  of  about  sixty-six 
thousand  people  as  the  entire  numerical  st::ength  of 
the  Society,  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  Esti- 
mating the  entire  population  at  eight  millic>ns  and  a 
half,  it  may  be  stated  in  popular  language^  that  07ie 
person  in  one  hundred  and  tliirty  professed  with  the 
Friends  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
In  considering  the  causes  purely  statistical  which 
were  continually  reducing  this  large  number  through- 
out the  eighteenth  century,  emigration  is  an  item  of 
considerable  importance.  The  attractions  ofiered  to 
the  persecuted,  by  the  colonies  of  North  America, 
were  great,  and  many  availed  themselves  of  the 
opportunity  to  escape  from  their  sufferings,  in  Eng- 
land to  the  free  settlements  of  Pennsylvania,  New 
Jersey,  &c.  The  drain  on  the  English  Society  from 
this   cause  was    continuous   from  the  settlement  of 

*  See  Note  10,  p.  84. 


74 


QUAKERISM:  PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


PRESENT  NUMERICAL  STRENGTH. 


75 


(til 


! 


West  Jersey  in  1676,  to  the  breaking   out  of  the 
American  war  in  1775.    About  five  hundred  Friends 
per  annum  are  reported  as  emigrating  between  1676 
and  1700.*     To  what  extent  tliis  rate  of  emigration 
was  maintained  during  the  next  eighty  years  has  not 
been  ascertained,  but  it  is  known  to  have  been  very 
considerable.      Bearing   this  fact  in  mind,  and  its 
connection  with  the  state  of  the  Society  throughout 
the  eighteenth  century,  and  the  constant  defection 
from   its   ranks   that  it  experienced   from   differing 
and  sometimes  opposing  causes,  it  is  hardly  matter 
of  surprise  that  in  the  year  1800,  its  numbers  were 
only  one-half  of  what  they  had  been  one   hundred 
and  twenty  years  previously.     At  the  beginning  of 
the    present   century   the    number   of   members    in 
England  and  Wales  appears  to  have  been   19,800.t 
The  "  non-members "  (judging  from  'the  proportion 
of  births  and  deaths  recorded  of  this  class  J)  were 
about  8,000  ;  Scotland  and  Ireland  may  be  estimated 
(members    and   others)    at  4,500,  giving  the   total 
numerical  strength  of  the  Society  in  these  islands, 
in   the   year   1800,   at   32,000   persons— a^owt  one 
Friend  to  every  470  of  the  general  population. 

*  Appendix  to  Thurnam's  Statistics,  p.  12. 

f  See  Note  14,  p.  86. 

i  See  Notes  4  and  7,  pp.  79  and  82. 


A  constant  loss  of  members  is  inevitabhj  to  every 
Church,  from  parties  voluntarily  resigning  their  con- 
nection with  it,  and  from  others  lapsing  into  open 
and  flagrant  sin.  Losses  of  this  character  cannot 
be  altogether  prevented  by  any  arrangements,  nor 
by  a  high  degree  of  Christian  vitality,  but  in  a 
healthy  community  they  will  generally  be  more  than 
counterbalanced  by  the  accession  of  new  converts. 
No  such  encouraging  condition  of  affairs  has  been 
enjoyed  by  the  Society  of  Friends  during  t lie  present 
century.  Upwards  of  8,400  persons  hav<j  resigned 
their  membership  or  been  disowned,  and  this  loss 
having  only  been  compensated  for  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  6,000  persons,  through  convincement,  regis- 
tration of  non-members,  readmissions,  &C.3  a  melan- 
choly balance  of  2,400  remains  on  the  debtor  side 
of  the  Society's  balance  sheet.* 

Emigration  amongst  the  Friends  during  the  last 
fifty  years  has  not  been  equal  in  proportion  to  that 
of  the  population  at  large  f — we  estimate  it  at  700 
persons ;  but,  occurring  in  a  commimity  in  which  the 
deatlis  were  exceeding  the  birtlis,J  its  influence  is 
more  evident  than  where  the  population  is  i-edundant. 

The  "religious  census"  of  1851  naturally  recalls 

*  See  Note  11,  p.  84.  f  See  Note  13,  p.  86. 

t  See  Note  12,  p.  86. 


f 


76 


QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


77 


the  mind  to  the  "religious  census"  of  William  the 
Third.  How  vast  the  change  that  has  taken  place 
in  the  religious  aspect  of  England  witliin  the  hundred 
and  sixty  years !  New  churches,  counting  their  ad- 
herents hy  hundreds  of  thousands,  appear  in  the 
tables  of  1851,  wliich  were  unknown  in  1695.  Most 
of  the  old  bodies,  the  Church  of  England,  the  Roman 
Catholics,  the  Independents,  the  Baptists,  have  in- 
creased their  numbers  prodigiously ;  the  Society  of 
Eriends  alone  has  retrograded,  and  to  an  extent 
of  considerably  more  than  one-half.  In  1856  the 
number  of  the  Friends  in  England  and  Wales 
("  members  ")  appears  to  have  been  14,530.* 
Adding  7,000  for  non-members,  and  4,000  for  all, 
either  in  membership  or  profession,  in  Ireland,  &c., 
we  shall  have  a  total,  short  of  26,000  persons  in 
the  United  Kingdom,  representing  the  entire  nume- 
rical strength  of  the  Society  of  Friends  at  the 
present  time ;  equivalent  to  about  one  person  in 
eleven  hundred  of  the  general  population,  as  con- 
trasted with  one  in  one  hundred  and  thirty  in  1680.t 
*  See  Note  14,  p.  86.  f  ^^^  ^^ote  15,  p.  88. 


NOTES    ON    CHAPTER    lY. 


Note  1. 

It  was  not  till  1777  that  the  registration  of  births,  ieaths,  and 
marriages,  was  placed  under  the  supervision  of  quarterly  meet- 
ings ;  previous  to  that  time  the  registration  depended  on  the  indi- 
vidual and  somewhat  varying  action  of  monthly  and  particular 
meetings.  Many  of  the  records  previous  to  this  time  must  have 
perished,  the  books  having  been  kept  at  private  houses  and  much 
irregularity  having  necessarily  prevailed  in  times  of  persecution, 
as  well  as  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  through 
the  lax  condition  of  the  Society, 

Note  2. 

In  the  returns  for  the  ecclesiastical  province  of  York,  the 
total  number  of  dissenters  (including  children)  is  sett  down  at 
30,150 ;  from  the  number  of  their  marriages  solemnized  in  York- 
shire {see  note  6,  p.  81)  it  is  evident  there  cannot  have  been 
fewer  than  5,000  Quakers  in  that  county  alone  at  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century ;  and  as  they  were  exceedingly  numerous 
throughout  the  North  of  England,  it  is  incredible  that  there 
should  have  been  only  30,000  dissenters  of  all  sects,  where  one 
body  alone  must  have  approached  that  number. 

Note  3. 
In  employing  the  Society's  registry  of  marriages  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ascertaining  the  number  of  its  members  at  anj  particular 
period,  it  is  needful  to  keep  in  mind  certain  accompa;iying  facts 
which  affect  the  deductions.  For  the  first  hundred  years  of  the 
Society's  history,  all  attenders  of  its  stated  meetings  for  divine 
worship  were  at  liberty  to  solemnize  their  marriages  in  its  meet- 
ing-houses, and  such  marriages  were  recorded  by  the  monthly 


78 


QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


meetings.    It  is  impossible  to  ascertain  precisely  what  was  the 
average  frequency  of  marriage  at  this  time,  either  in  the  popu- 
lation at  large  or  amongst  the  Friends.     The   returns   of  the 
Registrar-General  give  one  marriage  annually  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  persons  in  the  present  population  of  Great  Britain. 
About  the  year  1800   one  marriage   appears   to   have  occurred 
annually  amongst  one  hundred  and  fifty  Friends ;  marriage  was 
probably  more  frequent  in  the  earlier  period,  but  taking  into  con- 
sideration the  habits  of  a  moral  and  religious  people,  the  deterring 
effect  of  persecution  and  loss  of  property,  &c.,  we  think  that  in 
reckoning  one  marriage  per  year  amongst  each  one  hundred  and 
forty  Friends  in  the  seventeenth  century,  we  shall  closely  approxi- 
mate to  the  facts  of  the  case.  In  1737  the  Yearly  Meeting  attempted 
to  define  "  membership,"  by  giving  at  that  time  special  privileges 
to  such  persons  as  were  then  recorded  as  "  members,"  over  other 
attenders  of  meetings.     This  arrangement  has  gradually  restricted 
the  limits  within  which  the  Society  has  allowed  marriage  to  be 
contracted,  and  it  has  acted  with  a  continually  increasing  force. 
Marriages  between  Friends  and  other  persons  are  of  such  fre- 
quent occurrence,  as  to  require   the  number  of  such  marriages 
to  be  ascertained  and  adjusted,  when  investigating  the  frequency 
of  marriage  in  the  Society,  or  the  number  of  its  members  as  indi- 
cated by  the  marriage  register.     No  reliable  information  exists 
(in  an  accessible  shape)  as  to  the  number  of  marriages  "  contrary 
to  rule"  before  the  present  century;  but  the  ascertained  expe- 
rience of  the  Ackworth  scholars  warrants  the  statement,  that  by 
adding  one-third  to  the  Society's  registry  of  marriages  from  1800 
to  1840,  and  one-half  from  1840  to  the  present  time,  substantial 
accuracy  will  be   obtained  as   regards   the   general  experience 
of  the  Society  in  England  and  Wales.    In  comparing  this  expe- 
rience with  that  of  the  population   at  large,  a  striking  differ- 
ence appears.    The  marriages  of  Friends  (including  those  solem- 
nized in  a  manner    "  contrary  to  the  rules  of  the   Society ") 
represent  at  the  present  time  one  marriage  annually  to  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-three  persons,  instead  of  one  in  one  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  (as  in  the  general  community),  being  equivalent  to 
four  marriages  by  Friends  to  five  of  other  persons.     This  infre- 
quency  of  marriage  has  become  increasingly  marked  during  the 
last  twenty  or  thirty  years. 


NOTES. 


79 


Note  4. 

Table  showing  the  number  of  Births  registered  by  the  Society 
of  Friends  in  England  and  Wales: — 

Periods  of  Ten  Years.  Births  Regifitered. 

1647—1659     3,104 

1660—1669     7,26SJ 

1670—1679     9,75a 

1680—1689     9,211. 

1690—1699     9,130 

1700—1709     9,074 

1710—1719     8,358 

1720—1729     7,354 

1730—1739     6,49;j 

1740—1749     5,544 

1750—1759     5,57li 

1760— 1769     6,010 

1770—1779     6,58<5 

1780—1789     6,817 

1790—1799  6,7i;J 

1800—1809  6,910* 

1810—1819  6,62i)t 

1820—1829     6,390J 

1830— 1837§  4,577|I 

Total 131,483 


*  4,863  members;  2,047  non-members. 

t  4,331  members;  2,294  non-members, 

i  3,850  members;  2,540  non-members. 

§  7|  years  (equivalent  to  6,103  in  ten  years]i. 

II  2,922  members;  1,655  non-members. 


80 


QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


NOTES. 


81 


Note  5. 

Table  showing  the  number  of  Marriages  registered  by  the 
Society  of  Friends  in  England  and  Wales : — 

Periods  of  Ten  Years.  Marriages  Registered. 

1640—1659  203 

1660—1669  1,800 

1670—1679  2,820 

1680—1689  2,598 

1690—1699  2,193 

1700—1709  2,221 

1710—1719  1,930 

1720—1729  1,700 

1730—1739  1,255 

1740—1749  1,103 

1750—1759  1,079 

1760—1769  1,272 

1770—1779  1,059 

1780—1789  1,051 

1790—1799  1,026 

1800—1809  955 

1810—1819  834 

1820—1829  864 

1830—1839  847* 

1840—1849  666* 

1850—1855  299*t 

Total 27,775 

*  Obtained  from  a  return  to  the  House  of  Commons,  July  6, 
1857,  which  gives  the  number  of  marriages  between  Quakers 
in  the  year  ending  June  30,  1838,  as  76;  1839,  73;  1840,  81. 
In  the  half-year  ending  December  31 ,  1840,  35.  From  1841  to 
1855,  the  numbers  have  been  — 66,  58,  61,  55,  74,  68,  83,  67, 
53,  69,  65,  57,  68,  52,  57. 

f  Equal  to  598  for  ten  years. 


Note   6. 


Marriages  in  the  Society  of  Friends,  1650-1779. 


Quarterly  Meetings. 


Beds,  and  Herts. 
Berkshire  and  Oxon. 
Bristol  and  Somerset 
Buckingham 
Cambridge  and  Hunt 

ingdon     . 
Cheshire  and  Stafford 
Cornwall 
Cumberland  L  North 

umberland 
Derby  and  Xotts. 
Devonshire 
Dorset  and  Hants. 
Durham 
Essex  . 

Gloucester  and  Wilts. 
Hereford,     Worcester, 

and  Wales 
Kent  (records   imper 

feet) 
Lancashire  . 
Lincolnshire 
London  and  Middlesex 
Norfolk  and  Norwich 
Northampton 
Suffolk 

Sussex  and  Surrey 
Warwick,      Leicester 

and  Rutland  . 
Westmoreland  . 
Yorkshire    . 

Total    . 


I 

1 
11 

2 

4 
3 
G 

17 
2 
1 
1 

18 

4 

12 


1 
14 

8 
2 
1 
2 


2 

24 
45 


o 


25 

G2 

165 

34 

31 
30 
31 

86 
49 
25 
31 
50 
G7 


I 

o 


35 

116 

199 

90 

73 
48 
26 

87 
98 
31 
72 
36 


o 


15 
125 
150 

71 

38 
51 
26 

77 
75 
45 
66 
36 


o 
o 


100      76 
138    203,   110 


194 


75 

8 
91 
50 
171 
47 
22 
15 
62 

60 

72 

303 

1800 


68      60 


20 
125 

58 
485 
78 
34 
57 
97 

76 

65 

443 


22 

145 

56 

555 

78 

30 

44 

112 

84 
82 


16 

83 

143 

66 

30 
60 
23 

88 
47 
34 
81 
38 
75 
94 

76 

II 

121 

38 

483 

107 

19 

22 

61 


o 


o 


71 

3791  251 


41 

83 

147 

25 

20 
68 
34 

71 

42 
25 
87 
29 
77 
105 

53 

10 
119 
44 
479 
83 
21 
39 
91 


o 


I 

o 


c>« 


28  41 
97  101 

110  88 

29  23 


55     61 


2820  259812193 


69 

298 


2221 


16 
69 
29 

55 
22 
22 
61 
24 
42 
94 

63 

4 
113 
47 
395 
60 
20 
29 
65 

68 
103 
265 


CO 

I 

o 

CO 


9 

75 

19      27 


68 
20 
16 
54 
22 
60 
83 

64 

9 
112 
39 
315 
52 
25 
14 
61 

47 

79 

224 


18 
52 
75 
19 

I 

62 


60 
17 

10 
58 
15 

18 
68 

43 

1 

102 
23 

196 

31 

23 

f) 

37 


•<S' 


20 
49 
79 
13 

9 

39 
19 

47 
14 
11 
30 
17 
24 
29 

33 


81 
14 
187 
36 
16 
1 
34 


a 

■ 

o 
to 


27     50 


83 
184 


1930  1700  1255 


16 

64 

61 

5 

4 
29 
23 

75 
8 
9 
39 
19 
37 
24 

42 

4 
72 
21 
169 
38 
21 
11 
34 

40 
91      60 
161    164 


-     -.    -go's 


• 

o 

o 

CO 

t^ 

(i 

i 

■•o 

»— 

t^ 

r~ 

38 

49 

59 

30 

82 

69 

9 
on 

8 

«  Si 


rt  n, 


o ' 

H 


1103 


1C79 


36 
22 

66 
22 
10 
25 
46 
52 
23 

48 

12 

86 
17 
179 
41 
23 
22 
29 

47 

53 

205 


9 
6 

48 
18 
5 
39 
36 
39 
30 

32 


343 

922 

1,369 

394 

267 
579 
291 

835 

434 
244 
634 
386 
671 
1,013 

66G 


9   111 

851  1,266 
16;  431 
154  3,770 
691 
271 
280 
705 


39 
16 
21 
29 


33 

52 

185 


650 

894 

3,107 


1272  1059  21,224 


a 


if 


m 


wl 


82 


QUAKERISM :  PAST  A^'D  PRESENT. 


Note  7. 

Table  showing  the  number  of  Deaths  registered  by  the  Society 
of  Friends  previous  to  1849  : — 


Periods  of 

Burials 

Periods  of 

Burials 

Mem- 

Non- 

Ten  Years. 

Regis- 
tered. 

Ten  Years. 

Registered. 

bers.  ] 

Members. 

1650 — 1659 

709 

1750—1759 

6,834, 

viz.  : 

6,764 

70 

1660—1669 

6,599 

1760—1769 

7,514 

»» 

7,318 

196 

1670—1679 

10,142 

1770—1779 

i  ft  4   I 

j» 

6,899 

872 

1680—1689 

11,245 

1780—1789 

8,161 

» 

6,460  1 

1,701 

1690—1699 

10,657 

1790—1799 

7,344 

>» 

5,675 

1,669 

1700—1709 

11,274 

1800—1809 

6,503 

j» 

4,875 

1,628 

1710—1719 

10,876     1810—1819 

6,298 

>» 

4,541 

1,757 

1720—1729 

11,016 

1820 — 1829 

6,526 

»> 

4,436 

2,090 

1730—1739 

8,769 

1830—1839 

6,644 

» 

4,420 

2,224 

1740—1749 

7,925 

1840—1849 

5,517 

»> 

3,667 

1,850 

89,212 

69,112 

55,055 

14,057 

[For  the  foregoing  Table  the  author  is  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of 
William  Thistkthwaite,  of  Alderleijj  near  Manchester.] 

Note  8. 

Deaths  of  Friends  (members  only)  since  1841,  taken  from  the 
Annual  Monitors : — 


1841—2  347 

1842—3  356 

1843—4  342 

1844—5  354 

1845—6  357 

1846—7  398 

1847—8  387 

1848—9  389 

1849-50  310 


1850—1  327 

1851—2  362 

1852—3  311 

1853 — 4  374 

1854—5  357 

1855—6  287 

1856—7  300 

1857—8  318 


Availing  ourselves  of  these  figures,  and  making  allowance  for 
defective  returns,  the  deaths  of  "  members,"  in  the  first  six 
decades  of  the  present  century,  would  be  as  follows : — 


1800—09     4,875 

ISIO — 19     4,541 

1820—29     4,436 


1830—39     4,420 

1840—49     3,667 

1850—59     3,311 


II 


14 


/•i 


NOTES. 


Note  9. 


83 


From  the  detailed  table  of  marriages  within  the  limits  of 
the  different  quarterly  meetings  (see  Note  6,  p.  81),  it  will 
be  seen  how  considerable  are  the  fluctuations  in  the  numbers 
between  contiguous  periods  —  fluctuations  which  ire  inexpli- 
cable except  on  the  supposition  of  defective  records.  The  pro- 
portion of  names  from  some  counties,  appended  to  the  petition 
of  1659,  is  strikingly  similar  to  the  proportion  of  marriages 
recorded  as  occurring  in  the  same  district ;  others  are  as  dis' 
similar;  e.  g.,  whilst  the  names  from  Lincolnshire  in  the  petition 
of  1659  are  one-tenth  of  the  whole  (viz.,  782)  the  proportion  of 
marriages  to  the  total  number  is  about  one-fiftieth ,  and  other 
similar  discrepancies  might  be  adduced.  In  the  large  quarterly 
meeting  of  York,  forty-four  marriages  per  year  are  recorded 
between  1670-79.  Supposing  them  to  have  occurred  with  the 
frequency  before  stated,  viz.,  one  in  one  hundred  snd  forty,  it 
gives  six  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty  as  the  number  ot 
Friends  then  residing  in  that  county.  At  this  time  there  were 
fourteen  monthly  meetings  in  Yorkshire,  seventy-t\ro  meeting- 
houses, and  Friends  are  known  to  have  resided  in  three  hundred 
towns,  villages,  or  hamlets.*  If  the  above  computation  be  correct 
(and  no  allowance  has  been  made  for  marriages  not  solemnized  in 
the  Friends'  meeting-houses),  it  would  assign  an  average  of  eighty- 
five  persons  to  each  meeting,  and  twenty  to  each  local  ty.  If  from 
these  numbers  we  deduct  for  children  and  sick  periions,  it  will 
not  leave  a  larger  number  of  attenders  at  each  meeting-house  than 
might  be  anticipated.  It  is  stated  in  the  Yearly  Meeting's  Epistle 
of  1691,  that  there  were  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  monthly  meet- 
ings in  England  and  Wales.  If  the  fourteen  Yorkshire  monthly 
meetings  were  of  average  size,  from  one-tenth  to  one-eleventh  of 
the  entire  Society  must  have  been  located  in  that  county.  Out  of 
the  seven  thousand  eight  hundred  Quaker  women  who  signed  the 
petition  of  1659,  about  seven  hundred  and  forty,  or  one-tenth  of 
the  whole,  are  from  Yorkshire.  Multiplying  six  thousand  one 
hundred  and  sixty  by  ten,  we  should  attain  a  result  of  upwards  of 
sixty  thousand  as  the  number  of  Friends  in  England  and  Wales.  A 
like  result  is  obtained  by  applying  the  same  process  to  the  large 


Records  of  York  Quarterly  Meeting, 


a  2 


84 


QUAKERISM  :    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


NOTES. 


85 


S||:„ 


quarterly  meeting  of  London  and  Middlesex.  Diversity  of  prac- 
tice is  known  to  have  existed  in  diflferent  parts  of  the  country, 
and  even  in  different  parts  of  the  same  quarterly  meeting,  as  to 
the  degree  of  "  profession "  requisite  to  entitle  parties  to  the 
solemnization  of  their  marriages  at  "  Meeting,"  which  partially 
accounts  for  the  apparent  rarity  of  marriage  in  some  districts 
-where  the  Friends  are  known  to  have  been  very  numerous. 

Note  10. 

The  number  of  meeting-houses  in  Ireland  was  nearly  the  same 
as  in  Yorkshire.  It  is  stated  in  Wright  and  Rutty's  History  of 
Friends  in  Ireland  (p.  158),  that  the  losses  of  the  Friends  in  the 
civil  wars  of  1689-92  amounted  to  100,000/.  The  same  authority 
mentions  that  two  thousand  copies  of  an  epistle  from  Leinster  Pro- 
vince Meeting,  were  printed  for  distribution  amongst  the  Irish 
Friends. 

Note  11. 

We  are  unable  to  present  a  complete  statement  of  the  number 
of  persons  who,  since  the  year  1800,  have  entered  the  Society 
other  than  by  birth,  or  the  number  of  those  who  have  been 
expeUed  from  it.  We  do,  however,  possess  sufficient  data  to 
establish  the  main  facts  of  the  case,  and  to  furnish  an  approxi- 
mate estimate  without  much  risk  of  serious  error. 

The  periodical  returns  made  to  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  persons 
admitted  into  membership  on  the  ground  of  convincement, 
present,  since  1800,  an  average  of  about  fifty  per  year.  The 
aggregate  number  to  the  close  of  1856  was  two  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  eight.  To  this  number  must  be  added  such  persons 
as  are  reinstated  in  membership  after  disownment,  and  also  the 
children  and  young  persons  wiio  are  admitted  on  the  ground  of 
connection  with  the  Society  through  their  immediate  relatives. 
The  number  who  enter  in  this  manner  varies  so  greatly  in  the 
several  monthly  meetings,  from  the  different  views  entertained 
by  their  members  as  to  the  conditions  of  church  fellowship,  and 
of  the  benefit  or  danger  of  such  admissions,  as  to  prevent  the 
feeling  of  entire  confidence  in  any  estimate  drawn  from  limited 


experience.  We  possess  returns  from  ten  monthly  meetings, 
situated  in  Yorkshire,  Lancashire,  Gloucester,  Wilts,  Somerset, 
and  Essex,  and  including,  with  a  slight  exception,  a  period  from 
1800  to  1850.  The  average  number  of  members  in  these  meet- 
ings was  about  three  thousand,  and  their  circumstances  are  so 
varied  as  to  give  them  somewhat  of  a  representative  character 
The  resignations  and  disownments  in  these  ten  monthly  meetings 
amount  to  nearly  fourteen  hundred,  the  reinstatements  and  admis- 
sions (from  every  source)  do  not  reach  one  thousand.  Estimating 
these  monthly  meetings  as  forming  one-sixth  part  of  i:he  Society 
in  England  and  Wales,  and  their  experience  as  an  average  one, 
we  have  disclosed  through  these  returns  the  diminution  of  two 
thousand  four  hundred  members  by  the  excess  of  disownments 
over  admissions.  The  correctness  of  this  estimate  is  confirmed 
by  placing  in  connection  with  it  the  ascertained  experience  of 
Ackworth  scholars  drawn  from  all  parts  of  England.  Out  of 
fifteen  hundred  and  eighty-seven  individuals,  respecting  whom 
information  has  been  obtained,  and  who  left  the  schciol  between 
1800  and  1840,  it  was  found  at  the  close  of  1843  that  nine  hundred 
and  thirty-seven  were  then  members  of  the  Society,  and  six 
hundred  and  fitly  had  been  separated  from  it  —  thn^e  hundred 
and  eleven  of  them  for  having  married  contrary  to  its  rules,  and 
three  hundred  and  thirty-nine  on  other  grounds. 

From  the  data  here  enumerated,  and  from  other  sources,  we 
believe  the  subjoined  statement  presents  a  substantially  accurate 
representation  of  the  real  experience  of  the  Society  from  1800  to 
1856,  viz.: — 


United  to  the  Society  by 
convincement,  as  re- 
ported to  the  Yearly 
Meeting 2,708 

Reinstatements  and  ad- 
missions of  minors — 
estimate,  based  on 
the  experience  of  ten 
monthly  meetings  ...     3,292 

Balance,  being  the  ex- 
cess of  disownments, 
&c.,  over  admissions       2,400 

8,400 


Resignations  and  dis- 
ownments, estimated 
by  the  experience  of 
ten  monthly  meetings, 
Ackworth  scholars, 
&c 8,400 


8,400 


I 


86 


'\l 


^^•1 

H 


II 


QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 
Note  12. 


NOTES. 


87 


In  the  ten  years  1800  to  1809,  the  births  and  burials  of  "  mem- 
bers '*  in  England  and  Wales  were  singularly  equal  in  number, 
being  4,863  of  the  former,  and  4,875  of  the  latter.  In  the  next 
decade,  the  burials  were  about  two  hundred  in  excess  of  the 
births  ;  and  in  the  following  one  (1820  to  1829)  they  were  nearly 
five  hundred.  On  the  termination  of  the  Society's  registry  in 
1837,  the  total  excess  of  burials  over  births  in  the  last  twenty- 
seven  and  a  half  years,  was  twelve  hundred  and  thirty-one.  The 
Registrar-General's  report  of  the  number  of  marriages  recorded 
by  the  Friends  since  that  time,  indicates  the  progressive  growth  of 
this  excess ;  but  taking  it  as  continuing  to  the  close  of  1856  at  the 
same  ratio  as  from  1820  to  1837,  which  is  clearly  below  the  reality, 
it  gives  two  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty-six  as  the  diminu- 
tion of  members  in  England  and  Wales  from  the  excess  of  deaths 
over  births  since  the  year  1800. 

Note  13. 

Out  of  fifteen  hundred  and  fifty  Ackworth  scholars  who  left  the 
school  between  1800-1840,  and  who  are  reported  alive  in  1843,  it 
was  found  that  one  hundred  and  seventy-one,  or  every  ninth  indi- 
vidual, had  emigrated.  From  the  youthful  age  of  many  of  the 
scholars  in  1843,  a  considerable  addition  must  be  made  to  this 
number  for  those  who  may  be  expected  ultimately  to  emigrate. 
It  is  known  that  one-third  of  the  sons  of  Friends  pass  tlirough 
Ackworth  school.  It  is  probable  that  a  larger  proportion  of 
Ackworth  scholars  emigrate  than  of  any  other  section  of  the 
Society;  but  from  the  data  we  have  given,  we  think  it  will  readily 
be  admitted  that,  in  estimating  the  whole  number  of  members 
who  during  the  present  century  have  emigrated  from  England 
and  Wales  at  seven  hundred,  we  have  not  exceeded  the  actual 
number,  but  are  probably  below  the  reality. 

Note  14. 

Two  complete  enumerations  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in 
England  and  Wales  were  made  under  the  care  of  the  late  Samuel 
Tuke;  the  first  in  1840,  the  last  in  1847. 

The  registration  of  births,  marriages,  and  deaths,  was  main- 


m 


tained  by  the  Society  from  its  origin  to  the  year  1837,— ^luring  the 
latter  part  of  the  time  with  great  accuracy.  From  these  records, 
and  tlie  statements  of  marriages  given  by  the  Registrar-General, 
with  adjustments  supplied  from  other  sources,  we  are  able  to 
ascertain  the  number  of  members  at  the  commencement  of  the 
present  century  and  the  extent  of  the  subsequent  reductions. 
In  the  twenty  years  1790-1809,  we  find  nineteen  hundred  and 
eighty-one  marriages  recorded,  or  ninety-nine  per  year.  If  to 
these  we  add  one-third  {see  note  3),  we  have  an  annujd  average 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty-two.  Reckoning  one  marriage  as  at 
this  time  occurring  in  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons  (which, 
from  the  circumstances,  educational  and  otherwise,  then  existing, 
and  from  a  comparison  with  the  number  of  births,  we  believe  to 
be  correct),  we  have  nineteen  thousand  eight  hundred  as  the 
number  of  members  in  England  and  Wales  in  the  year  1 800. 

In  the  twenty  years  1800  to  1819,  the  number  of  marriages  re- 
corded is  1,789;  and  1,711  from  1820  to  1839.  From  1S40  to  1849 
the  number  is  six  hundred  and  sixty-six,  or  sixty-six  per  year; 
and  in  the  six  years  ending  with  1855,  the  annual  average  is  sixty. 
The  births  recorded  from  1800  to  1819  are  nine  thousand  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-four,  against  seven  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
forty-six  in  the  twenty  years  from  1820  to  1839.  The  burials  during 
the  same  period  are  respectively  nine  thousand  three  hundred  and 
eighty,  and  eight  thousand  nine  hundred  and  fifty-three.  The 
number  of  members  in  the  Society  in  1840  was  found  by  actual 
enumeration  to  be  sixteen  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
seven,  and  in  1847  to  be  fifteen  thousand  three  hundred  and 
forty-five. 

From  the  indications  presented  by  the  several  registries  of 
births,  marriages,  and  deaths,  we  take  the  diminution  of  members 
between  1800  to  1839  to  have  been  three  thousand  five  hundred 
and  twenty-three,  or  at  the  rate  of  eighty -eight  per  year. 

Between  1840  and  1847  the  decrease  was  nine  hundred  and 
thirty-two,  or  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  per  year;  tlie  decrease 
in  this  interval  being  augmented  by  temporary  cu-cumstances. 

The  marriage  registry  indicates  a  further  reduction  of  eight 
hundred  and  fifteen  members  between  1847  and  185C,  or  ninety 
per  year,  which  leaves  the  number  of  members  in  England  and 
Wales  in  1856  to  be  fourteen  thousand  five  hundred  ani  thirty. 


\ 


88 


QUAKERISM:  TAST  AND  PRESENT. 


At  the  several  periods  the  numbers  would  stand  thus: — 

In  1800  19,800  members. 

1810  18,920  „ 

1820  18,040  „ 

1830  17,160 

1840  16,277 

1847  15,345  „ 

1856  14,530*  „ 

Reckoning  the  number  of  members  in  1800  at  19,800,  and  in 
1856  at  14,530,  the  reduction  5,270  is  thus  accounted  for:— 

Excess  of  disownments,  &c.,  over  admissions  (note  11)  2,400 

Excess  of  deaths  over  births  (note  12)   2,336 

Emigration  (note  13) 700 

Total 5,436 

Note  15. 

The  force  of  this  comparison  is  not  at  all  invalidated  by  a 
reference  to  the  number  of  Friends  now  residing  in  other  parts 
of  the  world.  Quakerism  has  nearly  disappeared  from  the  Con- 
tinent of  Europe;  and  the  number  of  Friends  in  Australasia  is  not 
large.  In  America  they  are  absolutely  more  numerous  than  in 
1680,  but  fewer  relatively  to  the  whole  population  than  they  then 
were. 


89 


*  14,390  if  calculated  by  the  number  of  deaths  {see  note  8). 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE   SECOND   EPOCH   OF   QUAKERISISI. 

Death  of  George  Fox — Tendencies  of  Quakerism  at  tha :  period — 
Decline  of  the  Society  between  1690  and  1760 — Diminished 
effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  —  Commercial  prosperity  of  the 
Friends — Education:  defective  in  the  Society,  and  the  reason 
for  its  being  so — Ackworth  School  founded  in  1779,  with  im- 
portant results — Diminished  number  of  Ministers — ''Acknow- 
ledging ^linisters  " — Birthright  membership. 


it 


A  forty  or  fifty  years  has  been  the  term,  more  or  liss  clearly 
defined,  within  which  each  of  those  revolutions  that  mark  I'he  history 
of  the  human  mind  has  had  its  rise^  has  passed  its  clima:i',  and  Jias 
gone  forward,  commingled  with  other  moral  forces,  and  having  its  own 

abated Never   hitherto  has  any  new   impuUe,  or  any 

strenuous  moral  movement,  been  taken  up  and  carried  forward  by  the 
sons  and  successors  of  its  originators  in  the  same  mind,  or  with  the 
same,  or  with  nearly  the  same  singleness  of  purpose.  Great  men  do 
not  repeat  themselves  in  their  immediate  followers ;  or,  if  the  mantle 
of  an  Elijah  has  in  some  rare  instances  rested  upon  an  lillisha,  yet 
never,  hitherto,  has  the  spirit  and  power  of  a  company  of  distinguished 
persons  come  upon,  or  remained  with,  those  who  have  stood  up  to 
represent  them  before  the  world." — Isaac  Taylor. 


The  founders  of  the  Society  of  Friends  mostly 
passed  from  the  stage  before  the  close  of  th(i  seven- 
teenth century.     Fox  survived  many  of  them  and 


Ml  (I 


90 


QUAKEKISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


died  in  1690.  His  latter  years  were  largely  occu- 
pied in  perfecting  the  Society's  internal  economy: 
enfeebled  health  prevented  the  frequent  missionary 
journeys  of  his  earlier  years,  but  his  mellowed  zeal 
burned  brightly  to  the  last.  One  of  his  later 
"  epistles "  is  addressed  to  ministers  in  America, 
inciting  them  to  more  activity  in  preaching  to  the 
colonists  at  large,  and  to  the  Indians,  instead  of 
confining  their  labours  to  those  of  their  own  per- 
suasion. The  following  extract  from  the  introduc- 
tion to  his  Journal  throws  an  interesting  light  on 
the  tendencies  of  Quakerism  at  this  period,  as  well 
as  on  the  character  of  its  dying  chieftain : — 

"A  few  days  before  he  died,  he  had  a  great 
concern  upon  his  mind  concerning  some  in  whom  the 
Lord's  power  was  working,  to  lead  them  into  a 
ministry  and  testimony  to  His  truth;  who,  through 
their  too  much  entangling  themselves  in  the  things 
of  this  world,  did  make  themselves  unready  to  answer 
the  call  and  leadings  of  the  power  of  God,  and  hurt 
the  gift  that  was  bestowed  upon  them,  and  did  not 
take  that  regard  to  their  service  and  ministry  as  they 
ought;  and  mentioned  the  Apostle's  exhortation  to 
Timothy,  to  *  take  heed  to  his  ministry,  and  to  show 
himself  approved,'  &c.,  and  expressed  his  grief  con- 
cerning such  as  preferred  their  own  business  before 


DEATH  OF  GEORGE  FOX. 


91 


the  Lord's  business,  and  sought  the  advancing  worldly 
concerns  before  the  concerns  of  truth;  and  concluded 
with  a  tender  and  fatherly  exliortation  to  all  to  whom 
God  had  imparted  of  His  heavenly  treasure,  that 
they  would  improve  it  faithfully  and  be  diligent  in 
the  Lord's  work,  that  the  earth  might  be  sown  with 
the  seed  of  the  kingdom,  and  God's  harvest  raight  be 
minded  by  those  whom  He  had  called  and  enabled  to 
labour  therein ;  and  that  such  would  commit  the  care 
of  their  outward  concerns  to  the  Lord,  who  would 
care  for  them  and  give  a  blessing  to  them."  * 

The  Society  of  Friends  had  been  recruited  from 
such  strange  materials — from  Cromwell's  L'onsides, 
and  from  all  the  multitudinous  sectaries  who  flourished 
durinor  the  Commonwealth — that  it  would  ht.ve  been 
strange  had  such  heterorreneous  elements  been  re- 
duced  into  a  compact  and  well-organized  coramunity 
without  first  passing  through  a  process  akin  to  that 
of  fermentation.  This  was  the  actual  experience  of 
the  infant  Church,  which,  whilst  stmggliiig  with 
persecution  from  without,  was  repeatedly  threatened 
with  internal  dissensions.  But  Fox  triumphed  over 
every  opponent;  sometimes,  as  in  the  fall  of  James 
Naylor,  learning  a  salutary  lesson  from  an  untoward 
event.     It  is   an  historical  paradox  which  has   not 

*  Preface  to  George  Fox^s  Journal ^  p.  13. 


92 


QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


failed   to   attract   attention,   that   the   last  words  of 
George   Fox  —  the   indomitable    opponent   of    time- 
honoured    institutions     and     prescriptive     rights  — 
referred  to  the  triumph  of  order  over  anarchy,  "  the 
Seed  reigns  over  all  disorderly  spirits."  *  Fox's  mind, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  w  as  large  enough  to  com- 
bine the  constant  desire  of  spreading  "  the  truth"  (by 
which  he  meant  spiritual    Christianity   as  held   by 
himself),  with  the  maintenance  of  a  vigorous  and 
successful  struggle  against  "  the  vmruly  spirits "  in 
the  Church  to  which  he  acted  as  bishop.     But  to 
pursue   these   two    differing   lines   of   action   simul- 
taneously, was   a    task    beyond    the    ability    of  his 
successors ;  and  they  naturally  gave  their  energies  to 
the  one  which  appeared   most  needful   to  maintain 
internal   harmony   and   general    reputation.      From 
the    Snahe    in    the    Grass    it    appears    that,   before 
the  close  of  the    seventeenth   century,  the    disposi- 
tion of  the  Society's  leaders   to  regard  its  consoli- 
dation as  preferable  to  an  extension  of  its  borders, 
was  sufficiently  marked  to  attract  the  notice  of  hostile 
critics. 

Its  missionary  age  now  came  to  a  close;  the  first 

ove  passed  away ;  and  the  activity  of  Quakerism  as 

a  system  abating,  it  assumed  more  and  more  of  that 

♦  Pre/ace  to  George  Fox^s  Journal^  p.  12. 


COMMERCIAL   SUCCESS. 


93 


subjective  character  which  continues  to  distinguish  it. 
If  we  ask,  why  the  first  love  should  so  soon  have 
evaporated,  the  most  obvious  reason  that  presents, 
is  the  operation  of  that  law  which  makes  ii:  imprac- 
ticable for  one  generation  of  religious  reformers  to 
bequeath  to  the  next  the  same  degree  of  piety,  or  the 
same  measure  of  zeal,  with  which  they  themselves  are 
inspired.  No  one  conversant  with  Church  history 
can  have  failed  to  notice,  that  the  periods  which  have 
enjoyed  the  most  powerful  effusions  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
have  rarely  lasted  more  than  about  forty  years. 
Attention  has  been  called  to  this  circumstance  by 
different  historians;*  and  in  detailing  the  objective 
causes  which  have  occasioned  the  decle:ision  of 
Quakerism  we  would  carefully  guard  against  the 
charge  of  overlooking  such  as  lie  beyond  tlie  rano-e 
of  man's  control.  We  know  of  no  hypothesis  that 
satisfactorily  accounts  for  the  success  attending  the 
preaching  of  the  early  Friends,  without  admitting 
that  they  w^ere  favoured  with  an  unwonted  \^isitation 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  a  visitation  that  was  not  continued 
In  the  same  large  measure  to  their  successoi's.  It  is 
justly  observed  in  Milner's  Church  History,  that  ^^the 
first  impressions  made  by  the  effusions  of  tiie  Spirit 
are  generally  the  strongest,  and  the  most  decisively 
*  See  the  extract  at  the  head  of  tlie  present  chapter. 


94 


QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


distinct  from  the  spirit  of  the  world.  But  human 
depravity,  overborne  for  a  time,  arises  afresh,  par- 
ticularly in  the  next  generation."* 

Persecution,  except  such  as  was  occasioned  by  the 
refusal  to  pay  ecclesiastical  demands,  virtually  ceased 
in  the  reign  of  James  II.,  the  newly  obtained  liberty 
being  confirmed  by  the  Toleration  Act  of  William  and 
Mary.    In  the  Society's  own  words,  there  followed 
"a  day  of  ease,  of  outward  prosperity,  and  abated 
zeal."  t      With    commercial    success    came    wealth  ; 
luxury    followed;    and    as    the    frequent    attendant, 
though  not   the  necessary  consequence,  indifference 
in    religious    thmgs.     This    was    the    distinguisliing 
feature  of  all  the  Christian  bodies  at  this  period; 
and  it  favoured  a  like  condition  in  the  Society  of 
Friends.     The  mistakes  made— may  it  not  be  said 
by  all  the  parties  in  the  Church  of  England  in  the 
early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  ?— specially  that 
of  the  Puritans  in  making  their  appeal  to  the  sword- 
were  now  bearing  their   baneful  fruits.     After  the 
return    of   Charles    II.    even    soberly   mmded    men 
suspected  earnest  religion  to  be  a  hollow  thing ;  and 
by  the  end  of  the  century  the  English  churches,  of 
every  denomination,  were  far  gone  in  that  Laodicean 

*  Milner's  Church  History,  vol.  i.  p.  143. 

t  Minutes  and  Proceedings  of  London  Yearly  Meeting  of  Friends, 

1857,  p.  14. 


COMMERCIAL  SUCCESS. 


95 


slumber  from  which  they  were  aroused  fifity  years 
later  by  Whitfield  and  the  Wesleys.  It  is;  evident 
from  hostile  writings,  as  well  as  from  tlieir  own, 
that  so  early  as  1700  the  Quakers  were  noted  for 
that  commercial  success  which  has  continued  to  be 
common  among  them  to  the  present  day.* 

Is  it  merely  a  coincidence,  or  is  it  a  consequencey 
that  the  lofty  profession  of  spirituality  made  by  the 
Friends  has  gone  hand  in  hand  with  shrewc.ness  and 
tact  in  the  transaction  of  mundane  affairs  ?  Real 
piety  favours  the  success  of  a  trader  by  insuring 
his  integrity,  and  fostering  habits  of  prud3nce  and 
forethought — important     items    in    obtaining     that 

*  Snake  in  the  Grass,  second  edition,  p.  16  of  preface,  j.d.  1697: — 
"  Though  the  Quakers  at  first  left  their  houses  and  families  to  shift 
for  themselves,  to  run  about  and  preach,  and  cried  down  riches 
when  they  had  none,  yet,  since  that  time,  they  hive  griped 
Mammon  as  hard  as  any  of  their  neighbours,  and  now  call  riches 
a  gift  and  blessing  from  God." 

A.D.  1699,  Epistle  from  William  Edmundson  (Wright  j.nd  Rutty 's 
History  of  Friends  in  Ireland,  p.  199): — "And  as  our  number  in- 
creased, it  happened  that  such  a  spirit  came  in  amongst  us  as 
was  amongst  the  Jews  when  they  came  out  of  Egypt,  and  this 
began  to  look  back  into  the  world,  and  traded  with  the  credit 
which  was  not  of  its  own  purchasing,  and  striving  to  be  great  in 
the  riches  and  possessions  of  tliis  world ;  and  then  great,  fair 
buildings  in  city  and  country,  fine  and  fashionable  furniture  and 
apparel  equivalent,  with  dainty  and  voluptuous  provision,  with 
rich  matches  in  marriage,  with  excessive  customary,  uncomely 
smoaking  of  tobacco,  under  colour  of  lawful  and  serviceable,  far 
wide  from  the  footsteps  of  the  ministers  and  elders  the  Lord  raised 
and  sent  forth  into  His  work  and  service  at  the  beginning." 


96 


QUAIvERlSM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


standinrr  and  credit  in  the  commercial  world,  wliicli 
are  requisite  for  the  steady  accumulation  of  wealth. 
But  other  and  more  special  agencies,  both  internal 
and  external,  have  operated  on  the  Society  of  Friends, 
and  have  directed  the  energies  of  its  members 
prominently  into  the  pursuits  of  traffic.  We  do  not 
here  allude  to  the  excellent  education  noio  bestowed 
on  all  the  children  of  Friends,  and  which  imparts  a 
degree  of  intelligence  often  superior  to  that  possessed 
by  competitors  in  the  same  station  in  life  (this  will 
be  considered  hereafter),  but  to  the  neglect  of  other 
pursuits  which,  in  the  world  at  large,  serve  to  abstract 
men's  energies  from  absorption  in  commercial  en- 
nao-ements.  The  cultivation  of  the  fine  arts  was 
discourarred,  and  the  charms  of  science  and  liberal 
literature  were  but  little  appreciated  In  the  first 
century  of  the  Society's  history.  Since  the  repeal  of 
the  Test  and  Corporation  Act,  Friends  have  not 
unfrequently  filled  municipal  and  magisterial  offices ; 
but,  at  the  epoch  under  review,  they  were  excluded 
from  the  jury  box,  fi'om  all  other  civil  offices,  and 
were  likewise  debarred  from  holding  any  posts  of 
profit  or  emolument  in  the  gift  of  the  crown  or  of 
municipal  corporations.  These  restrictive  regulations 
produced  results  resembling  those  which  on  a  much 
larger  scale  have  arisen  from  the  denial  of  the  rights 


EDUCATION. 


97 


of  citizenship  to  the  Jews.  The  experdlture  of 
energy  having  been  checked  in  some  directions,  it  has 
been  conducted  into  other  channels,  of  wJiich  com- 
merce has  been  the  principal. 

A  Church  striving  to  maintain  its  numerical 
position  in  an  increasing  population,  will  (mdeavour 
to  induce  the  children  of  its  members  to  adopt 
the  faith  of  their  parents  when  attainino  to  years 
of  maturity;  but  as  In  the  healtliiest  Churches  (it 
was  the  experience  of  those  existing  in  Apostolic 
times),  a  proportion  of  these  will  abandon  the 
paths  of  virtue,  and  throw  off  all  rehgious  pro- 
fession; and  as  in  a  country  like  Englarid,  where 
numerous  sects  flourish  side  by  side,  others  will 
be  attracted  to  some  Christian  community  other 
than  that  in  which  they  have  been  educated  ;  it 
is  obvious  that  these  losses  must  be  corapensated 
for,  by  the  reception  of  an  equal  number  of  con- 
verts from  the  world  at  large  or  from  'the  ranks 
of  other  religionists.  The  number  of  persons^ 
so  received  by  the  Society  of  Friends  during  the 
eighteenth  century  was  considerable,  but  very  far 
short  of  the  numbers  lost  through  various  causes. 
Amongst  these,  insufficient  attention  to  the  early 
religious  training  of  children,  and  to  education 
generally,  was  not  unimportant. 


1 


98 


QUAKEHISM:  PAST  AND  PRESENT, 


The  first   generation  of   Quakers  were  not  as  a 
whole  an  illiterate  body  of  men:   the  number  and 
bulk   of  their  pubHcations  now  existing   are   most 
extraordinary.     In  the  polemical  age  they  lived  in, 
pamphlet   succeeded  pamphlet  with  a  rapidity  mi- 
known  in  the  present  day ;  and  it  is  a  safe  conclusion, 
that  where  so  much  was  written,  there  were  many 
readers.     Some  of  the  "early  Friends"  were  not 
long  in  perceiving,  that  the  future  welfare  of  the 
body  would  depend  much  upon  the  careful  education 
of  the  young.      The  right  training  of  its  children 
must  ever  be  an  object  claiming  the  anxious  care  of 
a  wise  and  vigorous  Church,  and  for  the  maintenance 
of  Quakerism  it  was  of  special  importance.     Yet  it  is 
remarkable  that  the  distorted  application  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  inward  light,  contributed  to  the  neglect 
of  education  in  the  earlier  period  of  the  Society's 
history.   It  was  indeed  a  perilous  phase  of  enthusiasm 
that  parents  should  neglect  the  right  training  of  their 
families,  under  the  idea  that  by  so  doing  they  were 
facilitating  the  immediate  operations  of  the   Holy 
Spirit.     The   imminence   of    the   danger  was   com- 
prehended by  George  Fox.      In  1656  he  wrote  in 
warning  notes  against   it,  and   afterwards  repeated 
the  counsel  with  still  more  emphasis.     In  1669,  he 
says,   "Truly   my   life   has    been   often    burdened 


EDUCATION. 


99 


through  the  want  of  restraining  servants  and  children 
of  that  liberty  they  run  into.  Some  among  you  lead 
up  your  children  in  such  a  rude,  heady  way,  that 
when  they  grow  up  they  do  not  matter  ycu  nor  care 
for  you.  ...  In  many  things  they  are  worse  than 
many  of  the  world's — more  loose,  stubborn,  and  dis- 
obedient, so  that  when  they  come  to  be  sent  appren- 
tice they  run  quite  out  into  the  world.  Therefore, 
consider  these  things  in  all  your  families,  and  re- 
member the  time  of  your  former  profession  when  you 
exercised  the  reason  of  men,  so  as  to  l)ring  your 
children  and  servants  to  an  outward  profesidon ;  now, 
on  being  come  to  a  possession  of  life,  take;  heed  lest 
you  lose  the  right  reason,  wisdom,  undtjrstanding, 
and  knowledge."  * 

It  is  obvious  that  the  children  of  Friends  must 
have  been  very  unfavourably  circumstanced  at  this 
early  period  in  relation  to  educational  provisions. 
The  numerous  foundations  existing  in  ths  country, 
bequeathed  by  the  munificence  of  previous  ages,  were 
not  open  to  them,  and  the  law  presented  formidable 
obstacles  to  the  existence  of  schools  for  their  exclusive 
benefit.  Fox,  however  (harassed  as  the  Society  then 
was  by  persecution),  succeeded,  about  1667,  in  esta- 
blishing two  boarding  schools  in  the  neighbourhood 

*  George  Fox's  Epistles,  p.  309. 

]I   2 


100  QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

* 

of  London,  where  he  desired  "girls  and  young 
maidens,"  as  well  as  boys,  "  might  he  instructed  in 
all  things  civil  and  useful  in  the  creation."*  Five 
years  later,  fifteen  hoarding  schools,  at  least,  are 
known  to  have  been  in  operation.  These  were  prin- 
cipally conducted  by  persons  of  liberal  education, 
clergymen,  &c.,  who  in  uniting  with  the  Friends  aban- 
doned  their  previous  profession,  and  they  were  manily 
used  by  the  middle  and  wealthier  classes.  The 
poorer  children  were  partially  instructed  in  day 
schools  held  in  some  of  the  Society's  meeting-houses. 
But  it  is  evident  these  provisions  were  very  in- 
adequate to  the  requirements  of  the  case,  and  became 
increasingly  so,  when  the  talented  men  above  referred 
to,  were  removed  by  death,  and  competent  successors 
were  not  forthcoming  in  sufficient  numbers  to  fill  the 
vacant  places.  How  clearly  the  injury  thus  sustained 
was  perceived  by  the  London  Yearly  Meeting,  is 
shown  by  the  constant  recurrence  to  the  subject  in  the 
annual  "epistles"  issued  by  that  body  between  1680 
and  1790.  It  was,  however,  long  before  this  re- 
peated advice  produced  tangible  results.  No  provision 
existed  for  furnishing  a  supply  of  efficient  teachers ; 
the  low  rate  of  remuneration  deterred  persons  from 
enterinf^  the  honourable  profession  as   a  means  of 

*  George  Fox's  Journal^  p.  316. 


EDUCATION. 


101 


procuring  a  livelihood;  and  the  many  siggestions 
offered  for  removing  or  lessening  these  difficulties, 
failed  in  attaining  the  desired  result.  Indifference 
prevailed,  specially  in  the  rural  districts,  where  the 
Friends  largely  resided,  and  where  (remarks  the  late 
Samuel  Tuke)  "  there  is  reason  to  believe  ignorance 
was  but  too  prevalent ;  and  it  has  long  been  observed 
that  the  desire  for  knowledge  is  usually  in  the  inverse 
proportion  of  its  need."  *  Thus  education  continued 
very  defective  during  the  latter  part  of  i:he  seven- 
teenth century  and  the  earlier  part  of  the  eighteenth, 
and  large  evidence  remains,  to  show  thai:  numbers 
of  ill-disciplined,  badly  educated  youths  found  the 
Society's  enclosure  too  strait  for  them,  and  either 
openly  separated  from  its  communion  or  remained 
mere  nominal  members,  to  be  disunited  from  the 
body  whenever  a  revival  of  the  discipline  should 
take  place.  The  loss  of  members  thus  occasioned 
was  very  large. 

The  increase  of  attention  given  to  church  dis- 
cipline in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  ceatury,  was 
connected  with  an  augmented  zeal  for  the  education 
of  the  young.  In  1799,  the  indefatigable  labours  of 
Dr.  Fothergill  and   his  coadjutors,  resulted  in  the 

♦  Five  Papers  on  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  con^ 
nection  with  Education^  p.  51, 


102 


QUAIffiRISM:  PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


establishment  by  the  London  Yearly  Meeting  of  a 
large  boarding  school  at  Ackworth,  in  Yorkshire,  as 
also  in  the  formation  of  endowments  in  various  parts 
of  England  for  the  encouragement  of  education.  The 
condition  of  Ack worth  School  now,  is  greatly  superior 
to  what  it  was  in  its  early  days,  yet  from  its  origin  it 
exercised  a  powerful  influence  on  the  Society  at  large. 
''  Gradually,"  says  Samuel  Tuke,  "  the  extent  of  in- 
tellectual instruction  given  at  Ackworth  came  to  be 
considered  as  the  standard  of  what  was  due  to  the 
poorest  children,  when  their  education  had  to  be  pro- 
vided at  the  expense  of  the  Society ; "  *  and  now  for 
nearly  eighty  years  the  children  of  Friends  in  the 
poorer  and  middle  classes  have  received  a  good  Eng- 
lish education,  combined  witli  careful  moral  training. 
This  increased  diffusion  of  intelligence  has  operated 
in  raising  the  general  position  of  the  Friends  in  the 
social  scale ;  many  a  poor  boy  educated  at  the  Society's 
expense  in  Ackworth  School  having  risen  to  take  his 
place  amongst  the  merchants  of  our  great  cities. 

One  of  the  social  consequences  resulting  from 
this  movement  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  station 
in  life,  is  the  increased  rarity  of  marriage,  f  The 
emigration  of  young  men  from  the  agricultural 
districts   has   been   stimulated    by   the   diffusion   of 

*  S.  Tuke's  Five  Papers,  p.  91.  f  See  Note  3,  p.  77. 


ACKWORTH  SCHOOL,  ETC. 


103 


education,  as  they  were  naturally  unwillmg  to  remain 
day  labourers  in  the  employment  of  others,  when 
their  mental  capacities  fitted  them  for  independent 
positions — but  which  could  only  be  obtained  in  coun- 
tries where  capital  is  not,  as  in  England,  essential 
to  a  farmer's  success.  In  some  agricultural  monthly 
meetings  it  is  ascertained  that  a  quarter  of  all  the 
Ackworth    boys    have    emigrated    (and    mostly   to 

America). 

Another  result  of  this  extended  diffusion  of  educa- 
tion, was  a  fuller  apprehension  of  its  value;  one 
school  rose  after  another,  framed  on  the  model  of  Ack- 
worth, and  under  tlie  care  of  different  "  C[uarterly  " 
or  other  meetings,  in  which  the  literary  instruction 
and  general  management  varied  according  to  the 
class  of  scholars  for  which  it  was  intended ;  whether 
in  the  lower,  the  middle,  or  the  higher  walks  of  life. 
These  establishments  have  not  altogether  superseded 
private  schools :  some  excellent  institutions  of  that  class 
still  exist  in  the  Society.  If  so  much  educational  pro- 
vision is  now  required,  how  vastly  deficient  must  it 
have  been  in  former  times,  when  the  number  of  chil- 
dren to  be  taught  was  three  times  great(;r  than  at 
present  I 

The  causes  now  enumerated,  which  inck  de  the  de- 
ficient provision  of  religious  education  for  the  young. 


104 


QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


the  increasing  wealth  of  the  body,  the  inadequate 
estimate  of  the  value  of  Holy  Scripture,  the  neg- 
lect of  the  gift  of  teaching  and  of  other  outward 
means  for  the  maintenance  of  religion,  explain  the 
degeneracy  of  the  second  generation  of  Quakers. 
Witli  some  of  the  first  Friends,  as  with  many 
other  good  but  unlearned  men,  the  practical  ex- 
hibition of  their  religion  was  often  preferable  to 
their  written  exposition  of  it;  and  it  has  been 
much  overlooked,  that  whilst  George  Fox  lived, 
his  strong  common  sense  prevented,  or  lessened,  the 
operation  of  evils  which  afterwards  developed  them- 
selves. Thus,  as  regards  the  subjects  of  worship 
and  ministry,  his  writings  do  not  furnish  those  high 
encomiums  on  silence  which  have  past  current  in 
later  times — practically  he  did  not  forget  that  "  Faith 
comes  by  hearing ; "  and  his  dying  words  previously 
quoted,  refute  the  supposition  that  he  expected  any 
large  spread  of  Christian  truth,  independently  of 
the  faithful  preaching  of  the  Gospel.*  Visitors  to 
Swarthmore  Meeting-House,  near  Ulverstone,  still 
standing  by  the  old  mansion  of  Judge  Fell,  are  shown 
Fox's  great  Bible,  once  chained  to  the  minister's 
gallery  :  in  this  little  circumstance  we  discern  a  more 
enlarged   appreciation    of    the   value   of    the    Holy 

*  See  page  90. 


DECLENSION  OF  EIGHTEENTH  CENTUEY.     105 

Scriptures,  in  assisting  the  right  performance  of 
worship,  than  was  possessed  by  some  of  liis  con- 
temporaries, or  has  been  shown  by  their  successors. 
Fox's  personal  influence  in  counterbalancing  the 
seclusive  effects  of  the  disciplinary  system  he  had 
organized,  has  been  already  adverted  to,  and  we  now 
add  one  extract  from  his  Epistles  (it  is  far  from  being 
a  solitary  instance),  proving  his  anxiety  lest,  under  the 
pretext  of  renouncing  the  '^forms''  of  religion,  the  sub- 
stance itself  should  be  lost, — an  anxiety  not  equally 
present  with  his  successors  :  "  Now,  Friends  who  have 
denied  the  world's  songs  and  singing,  sing  ye  in  the 
spirit  and  with  grace,  making  melody  in  your  hearts 
to  the  Lord.  And  ye  having  denied  the  world's 
formal  praying,  pray  ye  always  in  the  Spirit  and 
watch  in  it.  And  ye  that  have  denied  the  world's 
giving  of  thanks  and  their  saying  of  grace  and 
living  out  of  it,  do  ye  in  everything  give  thanks  to 
the  Lord  through  Jesus  Christ.  And  ye  that  have 
denied  the  world's  praising  God  with  their  lips, 
whilst  their  hearts  are  afar  off,  do  ye  alwaj  s  praise 
the  Lord  night  and  day,  and  from  the  rising  of  the 
sun  to  the  going  down  of  the  same  praise  ye  the  Lord. 
And  ye  that  have  denied  the  world's  fastings,  and  of 
their  hanging  down  their  heads  like  a  bulrush  for  a 
day,  who  smite  with  the  fist  of  wickedness,  keep  ye 


M 


106  QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

the  fast  of  the  Lord,  that  breaks  the  bond  of  iniquity 
and  lets  the  oppressed  go  free  ;  that  your  health  may 
grow,  and  your  light  may  shine  as  the  morning."  * 

Our  infonnation  as  to  the  state  of  the  Society  of 
Friends  in  the  middle  ages  of  its  history,  is  less  full 
and  complete  than  of  its  rise  and  first  progress ;  but 
from  the  biographies  of  John  Griffiths,  Samuel 
Bownas,  Thomas  Storey  and  others,  as  well  as  from 
the  annual  epistles  issued  by  the  Yearly  Meetmg,  we 
discover  its  progressive  decline,  as  evidenced  by  the 
neglect  of  the  worship  of  God,  by  an  extended  con- 
formity to  the  practices  of  the  world,  inconsistent 
with  the  Christian  character ;  by  a  maladministration 
of  the  discipline,  and  by  a  diminution  of  charity  in 
relieving  the  wants  of  the  poor,  &c.  The  refusal  of 
ecclesiastical  demands  was  in  many  cases  compro- 
mised; the  plain  dress  and  language  of  the  early 
Friends  in  some  parts  of  the  country  was  no  longer 
seen  or  heard,  and  the  diminished  size  of  meetings  is 
often  alluded  to.  The  number  of  preachers  was 
largely  reduced  from  what  it  had  been  in  the  earlier 
period,  whilst  the  number  of  women  in  that  station 
bore  a  much  larger  proportion  to  that  of  men  than 
had  previously  been  the  case ;  and  there  will  hardly  be 
a  dissentient  to  the  soundness  of  Joseph  J.  Gurney's 

♦  George  Fox's  Epistles,  p.  127. 


DECLENSION   OF  EIGHTEENTH  CENTUEY.     107 

statement,  that  "  it  is  far  from  being  an  indi(jation  of 
life  and  soundness  in  the  body,  when  the  stronger  sex 
withdraws  from  the  battles  of  the  Lord,  and  leaves 
them  to  be  fought  by  those  whose  physical  v^eakness 
and  delicacy  have  an  obvious  tendency  to  render 
them  less  fit  for  the  combat."*  The  statistics  of  visits 
paid  by  English  ministers  to  Ireland  confirm  this 
statement  From  1660  to  1679,  fifty-two  men  and 
two  female  ministers  visited  that  island ;  during  the 
next  twenty  years,  in  spite  of  the  civil  wars,  re- 
ligious visits  were  paid  by  one  hundred  and  three 
of  the  former  and  ten  of  the  latter.  Between  1700 
and  1719  the  number  of  men  decHned  to  ninety-five, 
and  the  women  increased  to  fifty;  and  from  1720  to 
1739  the  numbers  were  respectively  seventy-eight 
and  fifty-seven. t  The  statistics  of  ministerial  visits 
to  America  are  very  similar  in  their  import  to  those 
of  Ireland.  A  proof  of  the  number  of  ministers  in 
Barclay's  days  is  given  in  his  Apology,  where  it  is 
stated,  "In  the  many  gatherings  and  meetings  of 
such  as  are  convinced  of  the  truth,  there  is  scarce 
any  in  which  God  raiseth  not  up  some  or  other  to 
minister  to  his  brethren,  and  there  are  few  ineetings 

*  J.  J.  Gumey  on  the  Religious  Peculiarities  of  Friends^  p.  226. 
This  opinion  was  strongly  held  by  W.  Edmondson.  See  Wright 
and  Rutty 's  History  of  Friends  in  Ireland,  p.  222. 

t  Ibid.  p.  351. 


108 


QUAKERISM:  PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


that  are  altogether  silent."  *  The  power  wielded  by 
an  itinerant  ministry  has  been  prominently  displayed 
in  modern  times  by  the  Methodist  preachers,  and  we 
may  estimate  its  influence  on  early  Quakerism  by 
learning  that  the  visits  paid  by  ministers  from  a 
distance,  averaged  one  a  fortnight  in  some  meetings 
for  }'ears  together.  In  Bristol,  so  fully  was  the  time 
devoted  to  public  worship  occupied  by  ministry,  that 
the  expediency  of  holding  meetings  compulsorily  silent 
was  seriously  entertained,  f  What  a  contrast  does 
such  a  condition  of  things  present  to  that  of  not  a 
few  meetings  at  the  present  time,  which  are  abso- 
lutely silent  sabbath  after  sabbath  for  months  if  not 
for  years ! 

The  practice  of  "  acknowledging  "  ministers,  as  it 
is  termed,  is  one  which  gradually  established  itself, 
and  it  is  one  which,  whilst  conferring  some  impor- 
tant benefits  on  the  Society,  has  probably  diminished 
the  amount  of  preaching  in  its  religious  meetings. 
In  the  seventeenth  century  any  one  believing  it 
to  be  his  duty,  was  at  liberty  to  speak  as  a 
minister  in  meetings  for  worship,  and  all  in  the 
habit  of  doing  so  were  considered  to  be  preach- 
ers  in   unity   with   the   body,   unless   the   monthly 

*  Prop,  on  Worship,  sect.  ix.  p.  340. 
f  W.  Tanner's  Lectures,  p.  90. 


"  ACKNOWLEDGING  MINISTERS." 


109 


meeting  specially  declared  to  the  contrary.  I  i  would 
be  out  of  place  here  to  detail  at  length  the  steps  by 
which  this  absence  of  arrangement  was  exchanged  for 
the  greater  precision  of  the  present  practice,  by  which 
monthly  meetings  deliberate  upon  and  record  the 
names  of  those  persons  whose  ministry  is  thought  to 
attest  the  reality  of  their  "  gifts ;  "  but  it  may  not  be 
useless  briefly  to  direct  attention  to  a  change,  the 
importance  and  operation  of  which  has  been  very 
generally  overlooked.  Committees  of  experienced  in- 
dividuals were  very  early  appointed  by  monthly  and 
other  meetings,  to  visit  the  families  of  their  members, 
and  to  extend  such  religious  counsel  in  each  case  as 
appeared  desirable.  These  visitors  were  denorainated 
"elders."  Additional  duties  to  that  of  ri^ligious 
family  visitation  were  afterwards  imposed  on  them, 
including  the  care  of  persons  beginning  to  preach  in 
meetings  for  worship.  With  such  parties  the  "  elders  " 
united  for  religious  conference  in  select  gatherings  sub- 
sequently called  "Meetings  of  Ministers  and  liilders." 
The  duty  of  exercising  a  general,  unofficial  o^^ersight 
over  the  congregation  to  which  he  belonged,  was 
often  centred  in  the  same  individual,  who  discharged 
the  more  special  services  of  an  "elder,"  till  about 
the  year  1753,  when  the  Yearly  Meeting  thought  it 
desirable  to  make  provision  for  the  more  systematic 


110         QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

oversio-ht  of  its  members,  both  ministers  and  others. 
Under  the  arrangements  then  instituted,  the  general 
care  of  the  ministry  was  assigned  to  officers  retaining 
the  name  of  "  elders,"  the  oversight  of  the  flock  being 
confided  to  individuals,  likewise  appointed  by  monthly 
meetings,  w  ho  received  the  title  of  ''  overseers."  The 
duties    of  the   elders   being   no   longer   exclusively 
confined  to  the  care  of   the  junior  preachers,  the 
« Meetings  of  Ministers  and  Elders  "  changed  their 
character,  and  assumed  that  of  assembhes  charged 
with  the  special  regulation  and  government  of  those 
composing  them ;  without,  however,  trenching  on  the 
powers  possessed  by  monthly  meetings.     When  an 
individual  has  spoken  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel 
for  some  time,  the  character  of  his  communications 
is  considered  by  the  monthly  meeting  to  which  he 
belongs ;  if  approved  of,  and  nothing  in  his  conduct 
prevents,  his  name  is  recorded  by  minute  on   the 
books  of  the  monthly  meeting  as  an  ''  acknowledged 
minister,"  such  a  step  conferring  the  right  to  sit  and 
take  part  in  "Meetings  of  Ministers  and  Elders." 
It  requires  no  remarks  of  ours  to  point  out  that  these 
recnilations  are  calculated   to   limit   the  amount   of 
preaching  more  than  was  the  case  with  the  simple 
provisions  of  the  seventeenth  century.* 

*  The  authorities  from  which  this  information  is  derired  are 


BIRTHRIGHT  MEMBERSHIP. 


Ill 


In  considering  the  general  lethargy  of  the  Society 
of  Friends  from  1700  to  1760,  and  even  a  later 
period,  it  must  not  be  overlooked  that,  from  its  non- 
centralized  constitution,  the  condition  of  things  in 
different  localities  was  liable  to  great  variations.  The 
memoirs  of  Samuel  Fothergill  and  others  prove  that 
such  differences  did  exist,  that  some  lights  still  shone 
amongst  the  prevailing  dimness,  and  the  epistles 
issued  by  the  Yearly  Meeting  show  that  the  men 
who  constituted  that  assembly,  were  able  annually  to 
address  much  sound  Christian  counsel  to  the  body  at 
large. 

The  year  1737  is  remarkable  as  being  that  in 
which  "membership"  was  first  recognized  by  the 
Yearly  Meeting.  Previous  to  that  period  (as  before 
observed)  the  only  criterion  for  determining  con- 
nection with  the  Society  of  Friends  was  habitual 
attendance  at  its  religious  meetings.  Nor  in  times 
of  persecution  was  any  other  test  required ;  but  at 
the  period  we  have  now  reached,  "  when  th(3  profes- 
sion of  a  Friend  no  longer  tested  individual  convic- 
tion, difficulty  arose  in  determining  the  limits  of  the 
Society's  responsibility  for  the  exercise  of  its  discipline 

Wright  and  Rutty's  History  of  Friends  in  Ireland,  pp.  387,  &c.; 
"W.  Tanner's  Lectures  on  the  Early  History  of  Friends  in  Bristol  and 
Somerset ;  Bules  and  Advices  of  London  Yearly  Meeting ;  Manuscript 
Minutes  of  York  Quarterly  Meetimj,  &c.  &c. 


112  QUAKEKISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


and  the  proper  relief  of  its  poor,"  which  induced  the 
Yearly  Meeting  to  issue  the  following  minute:  "  That 
all  Friends  shall  be  deemed  members  of  the  quar- 
terly, monthly,  or  two  weeks'  meeting,  within  the 
compass  of  which  they  inhabited  or  dwelt  the   1st 
day   of  4th   month,    1737."*     Many  years  elapsed 
before  the  consequences  resulting  from  this  enact- 
ment fully  developed  themselves.     In  some  respects 
the  evils  that  have  arisen  from  it  are  more  evident  at 
the  present  time  than  had  previously  been  the  case ; 
but  we  conceive,  it  might  have  been  early  discovered, 
that   to    make   membership  in  a   Christian    Church 
dependent  on  the  accident  of  birth,  was  very  much 
to  abandon  the  New  Testament  idea  of  a  Church. 
Instead   of  being  a   company   of  faithful  men   and 
women,  united  in  religious  fellowship  and  possessing 
a   strong    bond    of   union    in    heartfelt    allegiance 
to  their  common  Lord,  the  Society  of  Friends  in- 
creasingly  assumed  the  character  of  a  corporation, 
existing  for  ends  partly  religious,  partly  social,  and 
partly  civil;    and  containing   a  number  of  persons 
unconverted  to  God.     From  the  children  of  Friends 
being  registered  as  members  at  the  time  of  birth,  and 
being  esteemed  such  till  their  names  are  removed  by 

♦  Statements  connected  with  the  Marriage  Begulations  of  Friends, 
p.  6. 


BIRTHRIGHT  MEMBERSHIP. 


113 


death,  disownment,  or  resignation,  even  should  they 
give  little  or  no  evidence  of  the  possession  of  personal 
piety,  membership  has  virtually  become  hereditary, 
having  certain  privileges  contingent  on  its  possession, 
and  descends  from  father  to  son  almost  like  other 
property.  From  this  anomalous  provision  operating 
in  conjunction  with  their  marriage  regulations,  the 
Friends,  as  they  have  declined  in  numbers,  have 
become  increasingly  bound  together  by  family 
relationship;  and  whilst  the  spirit  of  clanship  has 
conferred  some  elements  of  strength,  it  has  also 
favoured  the  growth  of  that  exclusive  feeling  which  is 
rarely  absent  from  any  association  of  men,  in  which 
membership  is  principally  obtained  through  heredi- 
tary descent.  Such  bodies,  it  is  well  known,  look 
suspiciously  on  the  infusion  of  new  blood  into  their 
constitution ;  and  a  feeling  of  this  character  has  had 
a  powerful  influence  amongst  the  Friends  during  the 
last  century  in  making  them  indiflferent  t)  the  ob- 
taining of  proselytes. 

In  the  latter  part  of  last  century  the  difficulties 
that  arose  from  "meetings  for  discipline"  being 
merely  composed  of  a  few  elder  Friends  (sometimes 
possessing  little  qualification  for  the  office  but  that  of 
age),  induced  a  change  in  their  constitution,  and 
graduallv  tlie  attendance    of  all    "membcTs"   was 


■'!iii 


i! 


114  QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

encouraged.  After  this  change  the  weakness  occa- 
sioned by  the  retention  of  numerous  nominal  adult 
"members,"  having  a  right  to  assist  in  its  church 
government,  and  generally  to  influence  the  policy  of 
the  body,  became  more  apparent.  The  presence  of 
children  in  disciplinary  meetings  (as  listeners  merely) 
has  been  decidedly  beneficial,  and  constitutes  an 
important  educational  agency;  but  we  think  that 
had  some  arrangement  existed,  by  which  young  per- 
sons on  attaining  to  years  of  maturity  should  make 
a  simple  profession  of  their  faith,  or  renounce  their 
"  membership  "  in  the  body,  it  would  have  operated 
as  a  powerful  stimulus  to  serious  parents,  as  well 
as  to  healthy  congregations,  in  giving  their  chil- 
dren and  young  people  that  careful  religious  train- 
ing which  would  be  the  most  fitting  preparation  for 
such  a  profession.  It  would  also  have  prevented  or 
lessened  the  evils  arising  from  the  retention  of 
merely  nominal  members.  The  maxim,  that  "  what 
is  easily  obtained  is  lightly  esteemed,"  declares  a  true 
principle;  and  from  "membership"  being  so  indis- 
criminately granted  to  all  the  children  of  Friends,  it 
is  often  regarded  by  them,  when  rising  into  manhood 
or  womanhood,  in  a  false  light:  instead  of  being 
esteemed  a  privilege — as  membership  with  a  Christian 
Church  should  ever  be— it  has  been  felt  to  be   a 


BIRTHRIGHT  MEJMBERSHIP. 


115 


burden  imposing  restraints  not  demanded  by  their 
own  consciences.  Family  ties,  or  other  causes,  often 
prevent  such  young  people  from  separating  the 
connection  between  themselves  and  the  So^nety :  the 
Church  itself  will  not  do  it,  unless  some  act  penal 
imder  its  discipline  be  committed;  and  so  they 
remain,  sometimes  throughout  a  long  lifetime  (if 
we  may  accommodate  Lord  Macaulay's  metaphor), 
"members  of  the"  Society,  "but  withered  and 
distorted  members,  adding  no  strength  to  the  body, 
and  reproachfully  pointed  at  by  all  who  fear  or  envy 
the  greatness  "  of  Quakerism. 

When  the  regulations  respecting  membership  had 
existed  thirty  or  forty  years,  a  considerable  body  of 
persons  grew  up,  attending  meetings  for  worship,  and, 
making  more  or  less  of  profession  with  the  l^riends-— 
but  not  in  membership.  As  this  class  was  (constantly 
recruited  from  parties  who  were  disowned^  but  who 
retained  some  affection  for  their  former  principles  or 
practices,  by  the  children  of  such  persons,  and  from 
other  sources,  it  has  increased  to  such  an  extent  as 
now  to  constitute  more  than  one  quarter  of  all  the 
worshippers  in  the  meeting-houses  of  Friends.  How 
suitably  to  provide  for  the  education,  oversight,  and 
marriage  arrangements  of  this  large  body  of  persons, 
not  considered  as  forming  an  integral  pa]:t  of  the 

12 


116  QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND   PRESENT. 

Society,  but  separated  from  it  by  an  arbitrary  and 
accidental  line  only,  has  been  a  source  of  continual 
difficulty ;  and  by  neglecting  these  duties,  loss  has 
been  occasioned  to  the  individuals  themselves,  and 
much  weakness  to  the  Society  induced. 


117 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE    THIRD    EPOCH    OF    QUAKERISM:    CAUSES    OF 
DECLINE  PRINCIPALLY  INTRODUCED  AITER  1760. 

The  revival  of  the  Discipline,  1760  — Its  defectivi;  character— 
The  Friends  increasingly  isolate  themselves— Quietism— Irish 
secessions— Hicksites— Philanthropy— Dress  and  Language. 


"  The  body  of  which  Christ  is  the  head  was  never  meant  to  be 
nursed  and  petted  into  that  extreme  delicacy,  as  to  need  being  cur- 
tained in  from  all  the  airs  which  might  possibly  blow  upon  her.  Hers 
is  a  constitution  which  will  best  thrive  and  become  movt  robust  when 
most  in  contact  with  that  atmosphere  to  which  the  wisdcm  of  God  has 
evidently  adapted  it.'' — Edward  Miall. 


The  wide-spread  revival  of  religion  i]i  England 
under  the  ministrations  of  Wesley  and.  Whitfield 
was  not  without  an  influence  on  the  Society  of 
Friends,  though  we  have  not  discover(id  any  im- 
mediate connection  between  it  and  th(i  resuscita- 
tion of  the  Society's  Discipline  effected  about  1760, 
through  the  labours  of  a  large  committee  deputed 
by  the  London  Yearly  Meeting  to  visit  all  its  sub- 
ordinate meetings  throughout  the  kingdom.     This 


118         QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

committee  succeeded  in  restoring  to  working  order 
much  of  the  ecclesiastical  machinery  that  had  fallen 
into  desuetude :  monthly  meetings  too  small  for  the 
efficient  discharge  of  their  duties  were  amalgamated, 
and  large  numbers  of  merely  nominal  members  were 
disowned, — some  for  immoral  conduct,  some  for  non- 
attendance  of  meetings,  or  implication  in  warlike 
undertakings,  others  for  the  payment  of  tithes, 
church-rates,  &c.* 

It  may  be  mentioned  as  a  singular  proof  of  the 
traditional  character  Quakerism  had  assumed  in  some 
districts,  that  about  twenty  years  after  this  period  a 
committee  of  York  Quarterly  Meeting  to  which  had 
been  confided  the  care  of  a  seaport  congi-egation, 
many  of  whose  wealthy  members  were  in  the  habit 
of  arming  their  ships,  and  of  otherwise  belying  their 
profession,  had  to  leave  the  town  by  a  road  rarely 
used,  to  avoid  the  risk  of  personal  violence  when 
these  influential  offenders  were  subjected  to  the 
penalty  of  disownment. 

One  result  of  the  labours  of  the  Yearly  Meeting's 
committee  of  1760,  is  evident  in  the  increased  care 
exercised  by  monthly  meetings  in  the  recording  of 
births,  &c.  The  number  of  entries  in  the  Society's 
register,   which   averaged  nearly  one  thousand  per 

*  See  Journal  of  John  Griffiths. 


REVIVAL  OF   1760. 


119 


year  between  1670-1679,  had  declined  to  five 
hundred  and  fifty-seven  between  1750-1759,  but 
advanced  to  six  hundred  and  one  betw«3en  1760- 
1769,  and  to  six  hundred  and  fifty-eight  in  the  next 
decade,  notwithstanding  the  extensive  disownments 
which  had  taken  place.* 

In  perusing  the  narratives  of  these  transactions, 
the  careful  reader,  whilst  admiring  such  an  outbreak 
of  zeal  in  the  midst  of  a  chilling  indifference,  can 
hardly  fail  to  remark  the  mferiority  of  the  men  who 
revived  the  discipline,  as  compared  with  those  who 
established  it  ;^an  inferiority  that  displayed  itself  in 
a  lack  of  general  comprehensiveness  of  mind ;  in  an 
imperfect  apprehension  of  the  true  objects  to  be  at- 
tained  by  church   government,  and   of  the    means 
rightly  applicable  for  their  attainment,  as   well  as 
in  a  want  of  attention  to  the    scriptural  principles 
wliich  should  regulate  and  determine  all  disciplinary 
action.     This  change  may  be  accounted  for  by  the 
more  sectarian  stand-point  occupied  by  the  leaders  of 
1760,  as  compared  with  that  of  their  predecessors: 
the  Society  of  Friends  was  no  longer  an  advancing, 
aggressive  body,  aspiring  to  universal  dommion — it 
was  one  sect  among  many,  recognized   as  such  by 
Acts  of  Parliament,  possessing  certain  exclusive  civil 

*  See  Notes  4,  5,  and  7,  pp.  79,  80,  and  ^12. 


120 


QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


NEGATIVE  TESTBIONY  BEARING. 


121 


privileges,  and  its  serious  members  were  increasingly 
isolated  from  general  society.  It  is  not  strange  that 
men  smrounded  from  childhood  by  such  influences, 
and  receiving  the  shibboleths  of  their  creed  by  here- 
ditary descent,  should  be  less  catholic  in  their  desires, 
and  more  contracted  in  their  aims,  than  was  the  case 
with  the  first  apostles  of  Quakerism.  Thus  the  reno- 
vation of  the  Society's  economy  devolved  on  men, 
not  a  few  of  whom  were  earnest,  but  narrow-minded 
— a  race  of  people  always  ill  qualified  to  discharge 
the  functions  of  ecclesiastical  reformers. 

Had  there  been  amongst  these  reforming  Friends, 
men  of  the  perception  enjoyed  by  Ignatius  Loyola, 
they  would  have  known  that  the  truest  way  of  re- 
suscitating a  declining  Church  is  to  make  it  again 
aggressive — is  to  incite  its  members  to  enter  on  such 
fields  of  Christian  labour  as  are  best  adapted  for 
calling  out  their  talents,  and  through  such  labours 
those  "  who  water,  being  themselves  watered,"  and 
reacting  on  the  body  at  large,  the  tone  of  religious 
feeling  throughout  the  community  is  raised.  Tliis 
was  a  main  secret  of  Loyola's  success  in  reanimating 
Roman  Catliolicism  in  the  sixteenth  century;*  but 
the  very  reverse  of  this  policy  was  adopted  by 
the  reformers  of  Quakerism.  In  the  language  of 
*  See  Stephens*  Essays,  vol.  i.  p.  185. 


the  Westminster  Revieic,  the  aspirations  of  the  early 
Friends,  their  "  brave  assault  upon  the  world,"  their 
"  crusade  against  its  potentates  to  subject  them,  the 
whole  nature  of  man,  and  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ,"  had  fsiled;  and 
now  *^  the  invaders  retreated  within  their  own  bor- 
ders, and  endeavoured  painfully  and  fruitlessly  to 
isolate  themselves  from  the  world  they  had  hoped 
to  conquer."  * 

This  very  remarkable  change  had  been  p  rogressing 
since  1690.  The  "  early  Friends"  believed  they  had 
"  a  testimony  to  bear  "  to  many  truths  of  Avhich  the 
world  was  forgetful ;  and  their  testimony  Ti^as  a  posi- 
tive one.  The  "  later  Friends  "  have  borne  witness 
to  the  same  truths,  but  their  testimony  h;is  been  a 
negative  one.  From  the  catholic  views  entertained 
by  George  Fox  and  his  coadjutors  relativ^e  to  the 
kingdom  of  Christ,  from  their  belie\ang  it  to  be  a 
imiversal  spiritual  Idngdom,  extending  to  every 
nation  of  the  world,  it  was  their  unceasing  endea- 
vour to  increase  the  number  of  loyal  sibjects  of 
that  kingdom,  to  the  praise  of  its  great  Sovereign. 
When  pressed  to  explain  themselves,  they  dis- 
claimed any  pretensions  on  behalf  of  their  Society, 
as  if  it  were  the  sole  outward  embodiment  of  this 

*  Westminster  Review,  1852,  p.  619. 


122 


QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


kingdom,  but  they  nevertheless  thought  it  was  the 
principal  one ;  their  ideas  of  "  testimony  bearing" 
were,  by  logical  sequence,  associated  with  the  con- 
tinued increase  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  the  con- 
tinued spread  of  "truth,"  the  increasing  subjection 
of  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  to  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  Did  they  object  to  tithes?  Their  efforts 
to  have  them  aboHshed  were  indefatigable.  Did 
they  object  to  solemnizing  marriage  by  a  priest? 
They  endeavoured  to  "  show  a  more  excellent 
way ;  '*  to  have  as  many  persons  as  practicable 
married  at  their  meeting-houses ;  and  the  circum- 
stance of  a  *^  Friend  "  marrying  at  a  parish  church 
was  made  the  occasion  for  solemnly  protesting, 
before  the  officiating  clergyman  and  hundreds  of 
neighbours,  against  priestly  usurpations  in  the  cele- 
bration of  the  nuptial  rites.  So  we  might  proceed 
through  the  long  catalogue  of  their  *^  testimonies," 
and  show  how  thoroughly  practical  and  positive  was 
their  mode  of  upholding  them. 

The  change  that  slowly  took  place  cannot  be  as- 
signed to  any  single  cause ;  it  was  brought  about  by 
the  conjoint  action  of  several.  The  withdrawal  of 
the  stimulus  of  persecution,  increasing  opulence,  the 
declining  number  of  ministers,  the  seclusive  influence 
of  the  discipline,   and  the  traditional,  unadaptative 


GOVERNMENT  OF  PENNSYLVANIA,   1759.    123 

character  given  by  birthright  membership,  appear  to 
have  been  the  principal  agents.  Withir.  the  last 
century,  "  testimony  "  has  not  been  borne  against 
tithes  by  strenuous  efforts  to  have  them  Jibolished; 
but  if  a  Friend  pays  tithes  he  is  disowned :  if  a 
Friend  marries  before  a  clergyman,  no  pains  are 
taken  to  inform  the  public  of  the  Society's  objections 
to  such  a  procedure  ;  no  endeavour  is  made  to  have 
as  many  persons  as  possible  married  in  a  mamier 
simple  and  non-clerical ;  "  testimony "  is  borne  by 
disowning  oflfenders.  This  negative  ''  testimony 
bearing "  has  been,  we  tliink,  one  of  the  greatest 
delusions  of  modern  Quakerism ;  it  is  nearly  inopera- 
tive on  the  population  at  large,  and  it  is  c(mtinually 
lessening  the  number  of  persons  qualified  i:o  uphold 
the  Society's  standard. 

A  prominent  example  of  this  change  of  policy  is 
furnished  by  the  conduct  of  the  Society  in  I'elation  to 
the  Government  of  Pennsylvania.  In  consequence  of 
public  dissatisfaction  with  the  votes  of  the  Quaker 
representatives  in  tlie  House  of  Assembly  for  that 
State,  in  refusing  to  furnish  military  aid  against 
the  Indians,  the  English  Government  proposed  to 
prevent  their  acting  as  legislators,  by  im]X)sing  an 
oath  as  a  necessary  test  of  competency  for  filling  this 
position.     After  a  very  short  struggle,  the  point  was 


124 


QUAKERISM:  PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


virtually  surrendered  by  the  Friends ;  the  obnoxious 
members  vacating  their  seats,  they  and  their  co-reli- 
gionists declining  aftenvards  to  offer  themselves  as 
candidates  for  legislative  offices.  This  step  was  ad- 
vised by  the  "Meeting  for  Sufferings"  in  London, 
who  sent  a  deputation  to  enforce  its  necessity  on  their 
American  brethren,  and  the  latter  showed  the  greatest 
alacrity  in  responding  to  the  advice.  "  Upon  the 
whole,"  writes  Philadelphia  Yearly  Meeting  to  that  in 
London  in  1759,  "  you  may  observe  somewhat  of  our 
present  circumstances,  and  that  our  coiuiections  with 
the  powers  of  the  earth  are  reduced  to  small  bounds, 
which  we  fervently  desire  may  have  the  proper  effect  to 
establish  the  Church  in  righteousness,  and  fix  our  trust 
in  the  Lord  alone  for  protection  and  deliverance."* 
With  what  unfeigned  surprise  would  William  Penn 
and  George  Fox  have  read  such  a  paragraph  !  The 
whole  transaction  is,  however,  very  significant,  and 
may  be  taken  as  a  representative  instance  of  the  admis- 
sion made  by  the  Quakers  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
that  their  religion,  whilst  professedly  so  practical  in  its 
character  as  to  affect  the  remotest  minutiae  of  speech 
and  dress,  was  still  unable  to  flourish  in  connection 
with  many  of  the  offices  and  employments  which  men 
in  civil  life  necessarily  engage  in.     The  contrast  in 

*  Bowden's  History  of  America,  vol.  ii.  p.  281. 


STATE   OF  SOCIETY  IN   18TH  CENTrRY.      125 

this  respect  between  modem  and  ancient  Quakerism  is 
striking :  of  late  times  the  Friends  have  increasingly 
congregated  in  some  few  trades  and  professions ;  in 
the  earlier  period  they  were  found  occupying  every 
position  in  society,  from  the  trade  of  an  ir.nkeeper  to 
the  more  exalted  station  of  a  colonial  governor. 

In  the  first  pages  of  this  volume  we  have  shown 
how  thoroughly  Quakerism  was  moulded  by  the  age 
in  which  it  arose, — an  age  of  earnestness  ;!n  religious 
things,  not  a  sceptical  or  indifferent  one.  Had  the 
Friends  of  1760  been  men  of  larger  mertal  calibre, 
they  would  have  seen  that  the  hundred  and  ten  years 
that  had  elapsed  since  the  rise  of  their  body,  had 
made  an  enormous  difference  in  the  circumstances 
that  surrounded  it,  and  that  the  arrangements  suited 
to  a  period  when  high  religious  profession  was 
fashionable,  were  inapplicable  to  one  in  which  such 
a  profession  was  popularly  derided.  When  it  was 
needful  for  Bishop  Butler  to  write  his  Analogy,  and 
when  the  very  truth  of  Christianity  was  extensively 
denied,  it  might  have  seemed  to  be  self-evident,  that 
the  only  way  of  salvation  to  the  sinner  should  have 
been  declared  and  insisted  on  with  the  utmost  perspi- 
cuity, and  that  no  outward  means  of  religious  instruc- 
tion should  have  been  omitted,  for  guarding  the  young 
against  the  blasting  infidelity  prevailing  around  them. 


■1| 


126  QUAKEEISM:  PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


PHRASEOLOGY. 


127 


m 


I 


But  no  effort  appears  to   have  been   made   to    re- 
establish the  instruction  meetings  of  earlier  times,  or 
to  encourage  social  gatherings  for  the  carefiil  study 
of  Holy  Scripture  and  mutual  edification ;  nor  were 
the  few  remaining  provisions  for  aggressive  action 
strengthened   or    extended.      The    circular    yearly 
meetings  were  discontinued  in  consequence  of  the 
disorders  which  had  sometimes  accompanied  them, 
and  the  other  assemblies  for  disciplinary  purposes 
assumed  more  and  more  of  a  sectarian  character. 
It  must. also  be  observed  that  the  discipline  of  the 
"  Middle  Ages  "  was  much  more  legal  in  its  character 
and  administration,  than  that  of  the  earlier  period ; 
the  loving,  reclaiming  spirit  towards  offenders  then 
so  prominent   a  feature,  was    substituted    by  one 
"  desirous  to  maintain  the  credit  of  the  Society  and 
to  enforce  compliance  with  its  rules ; "  instances  oc- 
curring in  which  parties  were  disowned  "  forthwith," 
and  without  receiving  any  previous  "  labour."  * 

It  is  to  the  different  condition  of  English  society  in 
the  eighteenth  century  as  compared  with  the  seven- 
teenth, that  the  different  results  flowing  at  the  two 
periods  from  the  doctrine  of  personal  spiritual  guid- 
ance, are  largely  attributable.     In  the  former  it  led 

*  See  W.  Tanner's  Lectures  on  the  History  of  Friends  in  Somerset- 
shire and  Bristol. 


to  great  activity  in  religious  matters,  in  £ie  latter 
it  favoured  the  spread  of  a  "  withering  quietism." 
There  was  an  air  of  greater  mystery  tlirown  round 
the  ministry  of  the  Gospel  in  the  eighteenth  century; 
it  was  considered  to  be  less  amenable  to  ordinary 
motives  in  exciting  to  its  exercise,  whilst  at  the  same 
time  the  Society  placed  additional  safeguards  against 
the  exercise  of  undue  zeal.  The  information  annually 
furnished  in  early  times,  for  the  direction  of  ministers 
as  to  the  meetings  or  districts  in  which  their  visits 
would  be  well  received  by  the  inhabitants.^  was  no 
longer  collected ;  but  preachers  thinking  it  th  eir  duty 
to  visit  the  churches  in  America,  were  required  to 
obtain  the  sanction  of  three  meetings  instead'  of  one, 
as  had  previously  been  the  case.* 

Indicative  of  the  trains  of  thought  and  feeling  pre- 
vailing at  this  period  is  the  origin  and  gro>vth  of  a 
phraseology,  associating  spiritual  guidance  >v^ith  the 
idea  of  something  essentially  recognizable  by  the 
senses.  We  may  instance  as  an  illustration  of  this 
disposition  the  use  of  the  word  "  perceptible,"  subse- 
quently so  largely  appKed  by  Joseph  John  Guirney  and 
others  to  the  operations  of  the  Holy  Spmt  Whilst 
most  fully  admitting  that  the  blessed  intimations  of 
heavenly  love  and  guidance  are,  and  may  be,  "per- 

*  See  Bules  of  Discipline  and  Advices, 


i 


128  QUAIvEPJSM:   PAST  AND   PRESENT. 

ceptible,"  is  it  not  as  certain  that  they  are  ofttimes 
imperceptible  even  when  immediate  ?  and  does  it  not 
continue  to  be  at  this  day  as  it  was  with  the  disciples 
of  old  when  approaching  Emmaus,  that  the  heart  is 
warmed  and  the    Scriptures  opened   to  the   under- 
standing, whilst  the  eye  fails  to  recognize  the  pre- 
sence of  the  heavenly  Teacher  ?     We  submit  that  it 
is  somewhat  inconsistent  in  a  Church  which  so  stre- 
nuously objects  to  the  words  "  Trinity"  and  "  Sacra- 
ment," because  they  are  not  found  in  Scripture,  to 
be  at  the  same  time  in  the  constant  use  of  a  term, 
equally  unsanctioned  by  the  letter  of  Scripture,  and 
liable  to  convey  erroneous  ideas  as  to  the  manner 
and    evidence    of    the    Divine    illumination.      We 
have   not    found   this  pln-ase    in  the  vocabulary  of 
the  "  earlv  Friends,"  and  we  believe  a  close  exami- 
nation  of   their  writings  will  disclose  the  existence 
of  a  material  difference  of  idea,  between  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  first  and  the  third  generation  of  the 
Friends  regarded  the  manifestations   of  the   Holy 
Spirit.      There  were  multitudes   of  persons  in  the 
Republican  army  and  elsewhere,  who  in  the  days  of 
George  Fox  claimed  to  be  divinely  inspired.     From 
the  theology  of  the  Puritans  being  deeply  tinged 
with  Old  Testament  ideas,  their  belief  in  the  manner 
of  Divine  inspiration  was  Jewish  rather  than  Chris- 


I! 


DECLENSION  OF  EIGHTEENTH  CENTUI:Y.      129 


tian;  they  looked  for  the  sudden,  temporary,  and 
overwhelming  descent  of  the  sacred  afflatus,  rather 
than  to  the  constant  presence  of  the  Comforter  in  the 
heart  of  every  believer,  and  in  larger  measure  in  the 
heart  of  every  Gospel  minister.  Though  it  was  the 
peculiar  calling  of  George  Fox  and  his  associates  to 
defend  the  latter  doctrine,  they  associated  parts  of  the 
Puritan  belief  with  it,  and  probably  the  Puritan 
phraseology  retained  by  the  Society,  was  influential 
in  leading  it  increasingly  to  regard  the  maniixjstations 
of  the  Spirit,  as  temporary  and  "  perceptible"  in  their 
character,  rather  than  as  the  silently  working  leaven 
of  the  spiritual  kingdom  changing  and  enlightening 
the  heart;  thus  exposing  to  the  charge  of  reverting  to 
the  Old  Testament  economy  instead  of  recognizing 
the  privileges  of  the  New :  we  doubt  not  this  is  one 
cause  of  the  continued  deficiency  of  labourers  in  those 
departments  of  the  Church's  service,  where  spiritual 
guidance  is  refjarded  as  most  essential. 

The  following  cautiously  worded  resume  of  this 
period  is  from  the  Memoirs  of  Joseph  J,  Grurney, 
edited  by  Joseph  B.  Braithwaite: — "Yet  in  this 
revival  there  appeared  lacking  that  thorough  Chris- 
tian devotedness  which  was  so  remarkably  mani- 
fested at  the  rise  of  the  Society.  Wliilst  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  amongst  Friends  at  this 


130  QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

period  was  often  marked  by  great  earnestness  in 
setting  forth   the   spirituaHty   of    religion,  and  the 
necessity  of  its  inward  operations,  it  was  not  always 
connected  with  an  equally  clear  and  practical  enforce- 
ment of  other  great  and  not  less  essential  portions 
of  revealed  truth,  which  in  the  minds  of  the  earlier 
Friends  were  inseparably  connected  with  their  deep 
and  comprehensive  views  of  the  soul-searching  and 
spiritual  character  of  true  Clmstianity.     And  it  may 
perhaps  be  added  that  the  increased  attention  to  the 
discipline,  valuable  and  important  as  it  was,  was  too 
often  associated  with  too  rigid  an  adherence  to  forms 
and  a  tendency  to  multiply  rules,  and  to  make  the 
exact  carrying  of  them  out,  in  degree  at  least,  a 
substitute  for  that  patient  and  discriminating  wisdom 
tempered  with  love  which  should  ever  characterize 
Christian  discipline."* 

In  Ireland  the  spiritual  life  of  the  Society  had 
long  been  languishing,  and  towards  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century  pernicious  effects  flowing  from 
an  excessive  exaltation  of  the  "  inward  hght "  be- 
came evident,!  more  especially  amongst  the  minis- 
ters   and    elders,    by  an   open   questioning  of  the 

*  Memoirs  of  J.  J.  Gumey,  voL  ii.  p.  3. 

f  Events  among  the  Quakers  in  Ireland,    Anno  1804,  J.  Johnson, 

London. 


mCKSITE  SECESSION. 


131 


inspiration  of  Scripture ;  *  by  a  refusal  to  comply 
witli  the  regulations  of  the  body  for  enstiring  the 
orderly  solemnization  of  marriages,  &c.,  tinder  the 
notion  that  such  regulations  were  "  useless  forms  "  j 
and  "  superstitious  practices  ; "  and  ultimately  by  a 
denial  of  the  divinitv  of  Christ,  and  of  Lis  atone- 
ment  for  sin.  J  The  major  part  of  thcf  Yearly 
Meeting  of  Dublin  held  firmly  by  scriptural  prin- 
ciples, and  tlie  dissentients  resigned  their  mem- 
bership, or  were  disowned.  The  secession  was 
extensive ;  we  cannot  furnish  the  numbers  of  those 
who  were  thus  separated,  but  in  some  disi;ricts  the 
orthodox  party  lost  all  their  ministers  and  elders, 
and  the  Society  at  large  was  left  weak,  stripped, 
and  imsettled. 

Tliis  un settlement  was  not  confined  to  Ireland ; 
it  partially  extended  to  England,  and  conduCi3d,  thirty 
years  later,  to  the  extensive  Hicksite  secession  in 
America — originating,  like  that  in  Ireland,  in  giving 
the  "  inward  light "  the  place  of  Scriptunj,  and  in 
exalting  the  "inward  Christ,"  denying  "Jesus  of 
Nazareth,"  his  atonement  for  sin  and  oneness  with 
the  Father  ;  and  idtimately  landing  mary  of  its 
authors   in  virtual  infidelitv.     No  secession  of  this 

*  Events  Among  the  Quakers  in  Ireland^  Appendix,  p.  20. 
t  Ibid.  p.  127.  J  Ibid.  p.  181,  &c. 

K  2 


^i 


I 


132  QUAKERISM:     PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

character  occurred  in  England;  but  the  inadequate 
declaration  of  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith, 
on  the  part  of  not  a  few  ministers,  deprived  their 
representations  of  religion  of  that  beneficent  aspect, 
which    the    practical    acceptance   of   this    cardinal 
truth    sheds    on    the    Christian's    pathway.      This 
defective    theology,   in   conjunction   with    the   high 
importance  attached  to  the  maintenance  of  peculiar 
modes  of  dress   and   address,   and   other    points  on 
the   outskirts   of    Christian   practice,  connected   the 
profession  of  Quakerism  in  the  minds  of  the  young, 
with  ideas   of  gloom  and  imreasonableness,  to  use 
no  stronger  words,   and   partially  explains   the  de- 
fection of  so  many  of  the  children  of  Friends  from 
the  faith  of  their  fathers  within  the  present  century. 
The   same  causes  prepared  the  way  for  a  reaction 
in  this  country  on  the  Hicksite  heresy  in  America, 
occasioning  the  "Beaconite"  secession  in  1836,  by 
which   a  small  number  of   persons,    probably  not 
exceeding  three  hmidred  members   in  all,  lef\;   the 
Society,  thinking  its  doctrines  less  evangelical  than 
those  laid  down  in  the  New  Testament.      It  is  en- 
tirely unnecessary  to  enter  into  the  details  of  this 
unhappy  schism ;  the  time  that  has  elapsed  since  its 
occurrence  is  perhaps  too  short  to  allow  of  an  inde- 
pendent and  altogether  impartial   judgment  being 


PHILANTHROPY. 


133 


pronounced,  concerning  the  motives  and  acts  of  the 
parties  concerned.  On  the  one  hand,  it  may  be 
safely  conceded  that  there  was  in  some  localities 
not  a  little  to  offend  the  exponents  of  e\angelical 
truth  ;  on  the  other,  the  favour  accorded  by  the 
great  body  of  the  Friends  to  religious  writings 
free  from  any  savour  of  mediaeval  mysticism,  is  a 
token  of  general  soundness  in  the  essentials  of 
Christian  truth. 

These  internal  dissensions  have  had  a  blicrhtinfr 
effect  on  the  Society,  and  have  occasioned  a  very 
considerable  loss  of  members. 

The  philanthropic  efforts  in  which  the  Society 
of  Friends  engaged,  towards  the  close  of  the  last 
century,  have  not  been  without  an  influence  on  its 
subsequent  history.  When  Benezet  and  TVoolman 
roused  their  brethren  to  a  fuller  recoo-nition  of 
the  "  enormous  sin  "  of  negro  slavery,  the  religious 
services  of  the  body  gave  but  little  employment  to 
such  of  its  members  as  were  not  engaged  in  minis- 
terial labour,  and  the  Friends  generally  were  able 
to  throw  themselves  without  reserve  into  1;he  anti- 
slavery  struggle,  with  a  degree  of  benefit  to  humanity 
which  the  world  has  generously  recognized.  The 
sphere  of  philanthropic  effort  was  rapidly  widened 
by  the  establishment  of  the  Bible  Society,  the  British 


134  QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

and  Foreign  School  Society,  &c.,*  in  both  of  which 
the  Friends  took  an  active  part,  also  in  the  reform 
of  the  criminal  code,  (pity  they  did  not  reform  their 
own  criminal  code!)   and  in   other   associations  in 
which  Christians  of  different  religious  views  were 
able  to  unite,  for  the  attainment  of  important  ends. 
Very  beneficial   to   those    engaged    in    them    have 
these  labours   proved,  and  the  amount  of  tangible 
good   that   has    been   effected    has    probably  never 
been    exceeded  by   any   equal  number   of  persons. 
Not  merely  has  benefit  accrued,  through  the  Chris- 
tian  labourer   being   strengthened   by   service,   but 
also  the  union  with  pious   individuals  of  other  de- 
nominations has  enlarged   the  heart  and  expanded 

*  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  quiescent  spirit  of  the  Society- 
prevented  its  entering  on  the  field  of  Sabbath- school  instruction 
till  long  after  most  other  bodies.     "  Friends,"  it  was  stated  in  a 
conference  of  teachers  held  at  Bristol  in  1852  (see  Printed  Report, 
p.  53),   had   till  recently  "been  rather  adverse  to  young  men 
engaging  in  the  work  of  First-day  school  teaching,  because  it  was 
thought  that   their  religious  character  might  be  injured  from 
the  want  of  sufficient  opportunity  for  retirement  and  religious 
reading.'*    A  correcter  view  and  deeper  knowledge,  would  have 
shown  that  the  young  men  were  specially  suffering  from  the  want 
of  having  their  energies  called  out,  as  is  done  by  Sabbath-school 
teaching ;   and  that  no  better  means  could  be  devised  for  reme- 
dying the  want  of  aggressive  action  in  the  Society's  arrangements. 
The  rapid  extension  of  these  schools  within  the  last  fifteen  years, 
and  the  general  active  encouragement  given  to  them,  indicate 
a  determination  to  repair,  as  far  as  is  practicable,  the  previous 
blunder. 


PHILANTHROPY,  ETC. 


135 


the  sympathies  of  men  beyond  the  contra<ited  circle 
of  their  own  little  sect.  Yet  the  tendency  of  these 
engagements  on  the  part  of  its  members,  has  not 
been  to  enlarge  the  borders  of  the  Society.  Some 
of  the  service  which  it  might  itself  have  employed 
with  great  benefit,  has  been  diverted  from  that 
channel ;  and  further,  from  the  attention  of  intelli- 
gent Christian  men  being  closely  occupied  with  these 
schemes  of  catholic  philanthropy,  their  thoughts  and 
energies  have  not  been  given  to  consider  the  state  of 
things  existing  in  the  religious  body  of  which  they 
formed  a  part;  otherwise  we  cannot  account  for  the 
continuance  of  such  a  number  of  able  and  earnestly 
minded  men  in  the  Society,  who  year  sfter  year 
might  have  ascertained  that  its  numbers  were  lessen- 
ing, absolutely,  as  well  as  relatively  to  the  general 
population,  and  yet  have  made  so  little  effort  to 
investigate  the  causes  of  this  decline,  or  to  re- 
move them.  One  reason  may  probably  exist,  in  the 
absence  of  accurate  information  respecting  the  So- 
ciety's numerical  position.  The  Yearly  Meeting  re- 
ceives no  official  census  of  its  numbers,  but  whilst 
annually  enumerating  those  who  have  joined  it  "  by 
convincement,"  and  collecting  all  the  minutiie  relating 
to  distraints  made  from  its  members  in  their  opposi- 
tions to  tithes,  &c.,  it  makes  no  inquiry  as  to  the 


136  QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

number  of  members  lost  by  disownment  or  resigna- 
tion. Had  tlie  Yearly  Meeting  been  annually  in- 
formed, at  the  same  time  it  heard  of  forty  or  fifty 
convincements,  that  the  disownments  were  double  or 
treble  that  number,  the  present  state  of  things  could 
hardly  have  existed  so  long,  and  with  so  little  of 
movement  respecting  it.  But  unwelcome  truths  are 
unpopular  things;  and  it  is  not  the  first  time  a 
church — ostrich-like  —  has  buried  its  head  in  the 
sand,  turned  away  from  the  remembrance  of  its  ail- 
ment, and  neglected  to  search  out  and  to  employ 
the  true  remedy. 

There  is  still  another  reason  for  this  indifference 
to  diminishinc:  numbers.  Whilst  their  official  docu- 
ments  continue  to  speak  of  Quakerism  as  "  neither 
more  nor  less  than  real  Christianity  in  its  purest 
form,  and  without  curtailment,"*  a  consciousness 
has,  nevertheless,  possessed  the  minds  of  many  of 
its  members,  that  as  now  developed  and  organized, 
the  Society  is  unsuited  to  be  a  direct  agency  in  the 
evan<relization  of  the  heathen,  in  the  arousing  and 
enlightening  of  the  ignorant  masses  of  the  population, 
or  even  in  the  promulgation  of  its  own  most  pro- 
minent tenets ;   and  this  has  led  persons  to  support 

♦  Report  of  Committee  of  York  Quarterly  Meeting  for  visiting  tlie 
Meetings  and  Families  of  Friends  within  its  Limits,  1855,  p.  13. 


DRESS,  LANGUAGE,  ETC. 


137 


associations  for  the  advocacy  of  their  priiciples  in 
fragments,  as  a  substitute  for  the  spreading  cf  "truth" 
as  a  whole,  in  the  manner  of  the  early  Friends.  On 
this  principle  the  "  Peace  Society  "  promulgates  the 
doctrine  of  the  unlawfulness  of  war ;  the  "  Society 
for  the  Liberation  of  Religion  from  State  j]^atronao-e 
and  Control "  testifies  against  the  support  of  religion 
by  the  civil  power ;  and  many  honest  Friends  think 
that  the  world  is  learning  the  doctrines  cf  Georo-e 
Fox  one  by  one,  and  in  due  time  will  have  learned 
them  all;  and  so  it  does  not  matter  so  mucli  if  "our 
little  church  "  itself  does  not  increase,  "  our  prin- 
ciples are  spreading,"  "  the  world  is  becorcing  more 
and  more  Friendly !  "  This  train  of  thouo-ht  has 
largely  obtained  of  late  years ;  it  harmonizes  well 
with  the  subjective  character  of  modern  Quakerism, 
and  we  find  it  expressing  itself  in  many  pointless 
platitudes ;  "  We  are  not  a  proselytizing  people ; " 
"  Our  condition  results  from  individual  unfaith- 
fulness;" "Numbers  are  not  a  correct  test  of 
strength,"  &c.  &c. 

Connected  with  this  branch  of  our  subject  is 
the  importance  attached  by  the  Friends  to  pecuhar 
modes  of  dress  and  language.  No  one  acquainted 
with  the  manners  of  the  Court,  in  the  i-eigns  of 
Elizabeth   and    James   I.,   when    "  the  dressino-  a 


% 


a 


138  QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


fine    lady  was  more    complicated    than   rigging  a 
ship   of   war,"*   can    be    surprised   that   the   Puri- 
tans testified  against  such  immorality,  or  that  the 
early   Quakers,    numbering    so    many   Puritans   in 
their  ranks,  should  adopt  their  protest,  and  amplify 
its  limits,  so  as  to  include  superfluity  of  language  as 
well  as  superfluity  of  dress  within  the  range  of  its 
appHcation.     They  objected  to  the  use  of  all  merely 
complimentary  expressions,  as  well  as  to  that  of  the 
plural  pronoun  when  addressing  one  individual  only. 
Some  of  their  etymological   scruples  may  now  ex- 
cite a  smile ;  but  the  objects  they  desired  to  attain 
were  far  from  unimportant, — these  objects  were  sim- 
plicity of  dress   and  truthfulness  of  language.      The 
founders  of  Quakerism  imposed  no   distinguishing 
bado-e  or  costume  on  their  followers — such  a  course 
would   have  been  thoroughly  alien  to  their   princi- 
ples ;  but  non-compliance  with  ever-varying  fashion, 
and  abstinence  from  ornament,  very  early  made  the 
Friends  partially  recognizable  by  their  attire.    Some- 
thing like  a  costume  was  thus  unmtentionally  esta- 
blished, which  the   second  generation  endeavoured 
to  maintain  and  enforce  by  sumptuary  laws  resem- 
bling those  of  the  English  legislature  at  an  earlier 
period  in  their  general  character,  as  well  as  in  their 

*  Pictorial  History,  book  viii.  p.  632. 


DRESS,  LANGUAGE,  ETC. 


139 


results  —  they  were  equally  disregarded.  In  the 
most  degenerate  days  of  the  Society's  history,  a 
considerable  proportion  of  its  members  threw  over- 
board simplicity  as  well  as  peculiarity  in  their  attire. 
The  stringent  regulations  of  the  succeeding  period 
naturally  included  dress  and  language  within  the 
scope  of  their  jurisdiction,  and  every  congregation 
had  annually  to  report  to  the  superior  meetings  as 
to  the  observance  of  "  plainness  of  speech,  behaviour, 
and  apparel."  The  extent  of  importance  attached  to 
the  observance  of  these  "peculiarities"  (to  borrow 
their  conventional  cognomen)  hj  many  serious  and 
estimable  men,  will  hardly  be  credited ;  and  in  the 
endeavour  to  maintain  them  in  their  integrity,  such 
parties  frequently  placed  themselves  in  very  false 
positions,  and  became  the  unintentional  perpetrators 
of  serious  mischief.  The  authorized  documents  of 
the  Society  spoke  only  of  "  plainness  "  of  dress,  but 
a  rigid  conventional  meaning  was  attached  to  the 
word,  and  parties  not  conforming  to  the  standard 
were  regarded  as  "  unfaithful,"  and  were  practically 
excluded  from  the  offices  of  the  church,  though 
to  the  unprejudiced  observer  their  attire  might 
be  as  "plain,"  or  more  so,  than  that  of  tlieir 
censors. 

When  George  Fox  argued  for  simplicitj'  of  atture. 


I 


140  QUAI^RISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


DRESS,  LANGUAGE,  ETC. 


141 


he  was  supported  "by  Scripture,  as  well  as  by  the 
example  of  the   early   Christians,    the   Waldenses, 
Lollards,  &c.;   but  the  idea  of  his  successors,  that 
an  outward  badge  or  costume  constituted  a  powerful 
aid  to  virtue,  by  shielding  its  possessor  against  the 
temptation  of  the  world,   had,  as  it  appears  to  us, 
but   very  limited  support  from  revelation  or    expe- 
rience, and  was   closely  akin  to  those  ascetic  errors 
that   flourished   amidst    the   fading   glories    of    the 
primitive  Church.     The  importance  attached  to  the 
observance    of    the   costume   and    to   the    peculiar 
phraseology    by   the    medijcval   Friends    and   their 
successors,   was    but    one    branch    of    that    fruitless 
attempt  at  isolation  from  the  world  which  we  have 
already  adverted  to.     The  object  sought  after  was 
excellent — the  avoidance  of  temptation.     The  "  lip 
of  truth"   has  taught   the    Christian    constantly  to 
pray,  "Lead  us  not  into  temptation,"  and  that  no- 
thing— not  a  right  hand  or  a  right   eye — must  be 
retained  if  separating  the   soul  from  Christ.     The 
adoption  of  a  costume  is  then  a  trifling  sacrifice  to 
make,  if  exemption  from  the  besetments  of  personal 
vanity,   and   all   the  evils   incident   to   the   love   of 
dress,  may  be  so  averted.     But  that  it  would  fail,  or 
that  it  would  introduce  evils  greater  than  it  was 
intended  to  obviate,  might  have  been  anticipated  from 


the  discrepancy  between  the  human  arrangement,  of 
erecting  "  an  external  bulwark  from  the  nvorld,"  "  a 
hedge,"  &c.,  and  that  of  the  Gospel  plan,  which, 
first  changing  the  heart  with  the  affections,  allows 
the  fruits   of   this    change  to  manifest   themselves 
afterwards  in  the  outward   conduct.       "][  pray  not 
that  thou  shouldest  take  them  out  of  the  world,  but 
that  thou  shouldest  keep  them  from  the  evil,"  was 
the  prayer  of  the  Lord  Jesus  for  His  disciples ;  and 
throughout  the  whole  of  His  teachings  (and  those 
of  the  Apostle  Paul),  the  idea  that  the  Christian  will 
find  his  safety  to  depend  in  outward  ordinances  and 
observances    is    steadily    combated,    the     emphasis 
being  laid  on  the  right  cultivation  of  the  heart,  and 
on  the  daily  endeavour,  under  all  circumstances,  to 
have  "  a  conscience  void  of  offence  toward  God  and 
toward   men."     The  experience  of  the  Friends  has 
not  belled  the  apostolic  statement  that  "  self-chosen 
worship   and   humiliation,    and    chastening    of   the 
body,"  are   impotent   to  "check  the   indidgence  of 
fleshly  passions."*    When  the  maintenance  of  "plain- 
ness" in  dress  is  merged  In  conformity  to  a  costume, 
the  effect  of  example  Is  very  much  lost :   the  dress 
of  a  policeman  or  of  a  Roman  Catholic  ecjclesiastic, 
being  confessedly  a  costume,  is  not  imitated  for  that 
*  Conybeare  and  Howson's  Translation,  Col.  ii.  25. 


142  QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

reason;  it  is  meant  to  be  a  distinguishing  mark,  and 
it  operates  as  such.     It  is  not  the  least  of  the  dis- 
crepancies between  their  theory  and  their  practice, 
that  the  Friends  have  thus  very  much  nullified  the 
effect  of  their  protest  against  extravagance  of  dress, 
and  that,  whilst  claiming  to    be   pre-eminently  the 
exponents  of  the  internal,  heart-purifying,  sph-itual 
nature  of   true    religion,    they  should  at   the    same 
time  have  placed  such  reliance  on  "  external  forms," 
as  to  have  made  the  adoption  of  a  certain  dress  and 
the  use  of  a  set  phraseology  almost  essential  requisites 
to  membership  in  the  body.     In  the  multitudinous 
pamphlets  and  letters  which  the  discussion  of  this 
subject  has  recently  evoked,  much  reference  is  made 
to  the  effect  of  the  costume  in  repelling  proselytes ; 
and  that   this   has  been   tlie    actual   result    appears 
to  be  well  established.     But  more  serious  has  been 
its  effects  on  the  children  of  Friends :  whilst  some 
have   to   rejoice   in    escaping,  through  this  means, 
temptations    to   which   they   might    otherwise   have 
succumbed,   others   experience   throughout  life    the 
evils   attendant  on  that  isolation  from    improving 
society,    to    which    they    are    consigned    in    early 
life.     ''  Again,  that  very  feeling  of  peculiarity  which 
prevents    some    from    associating   with    persons   of 
superior   education  to  themselves,  is  no  barrier  to 


DRESS,  LANGUAGE,   ETC. 


143 


others  against  an  intercourse  with  those  decidedly 
their  inferiors.     The  natural  love  of  comj^any  leads 
the  child  to  seek  associates ;  but  his  fear  of  ridicule 
prompts  him  to  seek  them  amongst  those,  ^ni\\  whom 
he  feels  that  his  superiority  of  position  ])laces  him 
above  any  fear  of  the  expression  of  ridicule."*     In 
reading  the  recent  animadversions  of  the  ;iewspaper 
press,  and  of  some  of  the  leading   literacy   organs 
of  the  day,  on  modern  extravagance  in   dress,  we 
hardly  know  whether  most  to  regret    the  inatten- 
tion with  which  many  Churches  have  treated  this 
subject,  or  the  mistakes  of  the  Society  cf  Friends 
in   their   endeavours    to    grapple  with  it.     In  con- 
clusion,   it   is    needful  to  remark  that  the   change 
of  sentiment  and  practice  has  latterly  bee  a  so  con- 
siderable,  that  the  preceding  observations;  refer  to 
a  bygone  period  rather  than  to  the  present  time, 
when  some  danger,  from  an  inadequate  appreciation 
of  CMstian  simplicity  in  dress  and  language,  may 
not  unfairly  be  apprehended. 

•  Reasons  for  objecting  to  the  Peculiar  Practices  and  Opinions 
oj  Friends  with  regard  to  Dress  and  Mode  of  Address,  by  Edward 
Sewell,  p.  9. 


.«! 


144 


CHAPTER    VII. 

MODERN   CAUSES   OF   THE   SOCIETY'S   DECLINE, 

CONTINUED. 

Marriage  regulations  of  the  Society  of  Friends— George  Fox's 
doctrine  as  to  marriage  — He  legislates  for  the  Society  — 
"  Mixed  marriages  " — Disownment  becomes  the  stated  penalty 
for  marriage  "contrary  to  rule" — Number  of  persons  so  dis- 
owned in  the  nineteenth  century— Infrequency  of  marriage 
amongst  the  Friends. 


"A  wonderful  picture  of  what  good  men  may  do,  acting  on 
mistaken  notions  of  duty,  to  destroy  the  very  structure  they  are  most 
anxious  to  uphold.'* — John  Bright. 


When  a  historian  of  Quakerism  arises  capable  of 
doing  justice  to  his  subject,  his  revelations  respect- 
ing the  marriage  arrangements  of  the  Society  will 
constitute  a  narrative  of  no  ordinary  interest.  He 
will  have  to  tell  how  comprehensive  and  how  holy 
were  the  views  of  the  early  Friends  respecting 
marriage,  and  how  boldly,  yet  how  prudently,  they 


MARRIAGE  REGULATIONS. 


145 


carried  them  into  effect ;  he  will  faithfully  relate  the 
evils  resulting  from  a  lax  discipline  in  a  lethargic 
Church ;  and  he  will  have  to  paint  in  darkest  colours 
the  far  worse  consequences  resulting  from  the  rigid 
execution  of  unchristian  laws.     George  I'ox's  oppo- 
sition to  any  human  priesthood,  included  the  denial 
of  the  right  to  marry  by  any  «  man-made  minister :  " 
he   held,   however,    that   marriage   was   a   religious 
ordinance;   and  thus  the   Quakers  were  equally  at 
collision  with  the  Popish  doctrine  of  mari'iage  being 
a  sacrament,  dependent  for  its  validity  on  tbe  blessino- 
of  the  priest ;  with  the  modification  of  tliis  dogma 
adopted  by  the  English  Church ;  and  with  Crom- 
well's Parliament,  when  it  declared  marriage  to  be 
a  civil  contract.      Under  a  deep   conviction  of  the 
truth    of  the  principles  he   had  embraced,  Georo-e 
Fox  directed  that  marriages   should  take:  place  in 
meetings  for  Divine  worship  in  the  presence  of  nu- 
merous witnesses,  who  subscribed  their  naraes'  to  the 
marriage  certificate  in  attestation  of  its  genuineness. 
He  says :  "  We  marry  none,  but  are  witnesses  of  it ; " 
marriage  being  «  God's  joining,  not  man's. "  *     This 
intrepid  defiance  of  existing  usages  and  of  legisla- 
tive institutions  was  not  made  hastily,  or  %vithout  a 
full  comprehension  of  the  consequences  tliat  might 

*  George  Fox's  Epistles,  p.  280. 


QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT 

ensue.*  We  learn  that  Fox  ascertained  what  the  prac- 
tice of  the  primitive  Church  had  been,  and  he  insisted 
on  scrupulous  care  being  exercised  by  the  Friends,  to 
prevent  any  just  ground  of  accusation  that  their  unions 
were  contracted  in  a  disorderly  or  clandestine  manner. 
The  most  ample  notice  of  an  intended  marriage  was 
given,  not  merely  in  the  meetings  of  Friends,  but 
sometimes  the  expectant  bridegroom  made  public  pro- 
clamation of  his  intentions  at  the  market  cross  of  the 
town  he  resided  in;  committees  appomtcd  by  monthly 
meetings  inquired  into  the  parties'  clearness  from  all 
other  matrimonial  engagements,  and  lastly,  the  mar- 
riage certificate  was  shown  to  a  justice  of  the  peace. 
It  was  doubtless  the  completeness  thus  given  to 
their  nuptial  rites,  disarming  the  laudable  jealousy 
of  the  civil  power,  that  procured  for  the  marriages 
of  Friends  the  recognition  of  legal  validity  when 
the  question  was  first  raised  before  Chief  Justice 
Hale.  His  decision  was  confirmed  by  other  judges, 
and  at  a  recent  date  received  the  sanction  of  statute 
law. 

*  These  consequences  included  not  merely  aspersions  on  the 
validity  of  these  marriages,  and  consequently  on  the  legitimacy 
of  the  offspring,  but  several  instances  are  recorded  in  which 
j»arties  married  in  Friends'  Meetmgs  were  imprisoned  on  that  ac- 
count alone  (Besse's  Suffer ings^  vol.  ii.  p.  103,  edition  of  1738),  it 
being  construed  as  an  offence  against  the  ecclesiastical  govern- 
ment of  the  Church  of  England. 


MARRIAGE  REGULATIONS. 


147 


Having  run  so  great  a  risk  in  obtaining  this 
privilege,  it  could  not  be  expected  that  tbe  Friends 
would  show  themselves  very  lenient  towt^rds  those 
of  their  number  who  married  parties  of  other  de- 
nominations before  a  clergyman,  not  only  because 
such  a  course  violated  the  Society's  "  testimony " 
previously  referred  to,  but  also  from  a  belief  that 
marriages  between  parties  of  different  religi  ous  views 
are,  as  a  class,  unfavourable  to  conjugal  happiness, 
lleason  and  experience  alike  indicate  that  Buch  must 
often  be  the  case :  marriage  between  Christians  and 
the  heathen  was  one  of  the  trials  of  the  primitive 
Church;  and  evils,  similar  in  kind  though  smaller 
in  magnitude,  have  resulted  in  later  times  where 
there  has  been  diversity  of  opinion  and.  practice 
between  husband  and  wife  on  religious  matters. 
Thus  it  cannot  but  be  regarded  as  within  the  legi- 
timate range  of  a  Church's  duty,  to  endgavour  to 
prevent  the  formation  of  such  unions.  They  were 
not  frequent  between  Friends  and  otheirs  in  the 
seventeenth  century;  when  tliey  did  take  place, 
sometimes  a  "testimony  of  denial"  was  issued 
against  the  offender,  but  the  practice  was  not 
uniform,  and  the  number  so  separated  from  the 
Society,  previous  to  1700,  appears  to  have  been 
small.       In   the   endeavour    to    ensure   oneness    of 

L   2 


fj 


148  QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

religious  conviction  between  parties  intending  to 
marry,  and  in  his  opposition  to  the  solemnization 
of  the  rite  by  a  clergyman,  it  accorded  with  George 
Fox's  comprehensive  ideas  to  rely  more  on  persua- 
sive counsel,  and  on  making  the  solemnization  of 
marriage  in  Friends'  meeting-houses  an  easy  pro- 
cess, than  on  the  operation  of  an  ecclesiastical 
penalty.  Even  when  a  monthly  meeting  did  not 
look  favourably  on  a  proposed  man-iage,  either  from 
one  of  the  parties  being  but  little  of  a  Friend,  or 
for  other  reasons,  it  usually  thought  it  better  to 
allow  the  solemnization  of  the  same  sncl  more,  rather 
than  drive  the  parties  to  the  parish  church.  In 
Fox's  quaint  phraseology,  he  wished,  if  it  were 
possible,  "  not  to  leave  a  hoof  in  Egypt."* 

Yet  he  and  the  most  thoughtful  of  his  followers 
must  have  been  aware,  that  if  the  Society  of  Friends 
was  to  be  merely  a  sect,  and  still  more  if  it  was 
to  be  only  a  small  sect  in  the  midst  of  a  vast 
surrounding  population,  its  members  would  not 
entirely  marry  amongst  themselves.  No  attempt 
at  isolation  in  this  respect  has  proved  entirely  suc- 
cessful. It  was  but  partially  successful  with  the 
Jewish  nation,  though  directed  by  special  Divine 
command;  and  not  more  so  with  the  early  Chris- 

*  George  Fox's  Epistles,  p.  280, 


"  MIXED  MARRIAGES. 


w 


149 


tians,  or  w^ith  the  Vaudois,  whilst  it  has  been  very 
unsuccessful  with  the  Society  of  Friends.  The  only 
part  of  its  history  in  which  these  "  mixed  marriages  " 
have  not  been  a  constant  source  of  trouble,  was 
during  sixty  or  seventy  years,  in  which  (Quakerism 
was  the  prevailing  faith  in  Pennsylvania,  and  some 
adjoining  States  of  North  America.  Samu<il  Bownas, 
writin^T  in  1728  of  the  o;reat  increase  of  Friends  in 
tliese  parts,  says,  "Now  the  extraordinary  increase 
of  professors  is  much  to  be  attributed  to  the  youth 
retaining  the  profession  of  their  parents,  and  marry- 
ing such ;  for,  indeed,  most  of  the  people  i:i  Pennsyl- 
vania are  of  this  profession,  as  well  as  in  the  Jerseys 
and  Rhode  Island,  so  that  young  people  are  not 
under  the  temptation  to  marry  such  as  are  of  dif- 
ferent judgment,  as  in  other  parts."*  In  England 
and  Ireland,  throughout  the  early  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  marriages  between  Friends  and 
others  became  increasingly  frequent.  Tiae  subject 
is  repeatedly  referred  to  by  the  Yearly  Meeting, 
usually  inciting  monthly  meetings  to  more  rigour 
in  the  exercise  of  the  discipline  on  offenders.  It 
w^ould  appear  that  in  some  parts  of  the  kingdom 
no  notice  was  taken  of  these  marriages ;  in  others 
a  brief  written  acknowledgment  from  the  party  that 

*  Samuel  Bownas'  Journal,  p.  233. 


Ill 


p 


II 


150  QUAKERISM:  PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

liG  or  she  had  broken  the  regulations  of  the  Society, 
with  a  few  expressions  of  regret  (often,  we  should 
suppose,  sufficiently  equivocal  in  their  meaning), 
was  deemed  an  adequate  apology.  In  other  monthly 
meetings,  where  more  rigid  disciplinarians  might 
be  influential,  disownment  was  the  penalty  inflicted 
on  any  one  contracting  a  "  mixed  marriage." 

Precisely  accordant  witli  our  previous  statements 
as  to  the  tone  of  feeHng  prevailing  after  the  disci- 
plinary revival  of  1760,  we  find  an  ever-increas- 
ing reliance  on  the  penal  exercise  of  the  discipline 
as  a  preventive  of  these  marriages.  Probably  it 
is  something  more  than  an  "  undesigned  comci- 
dence,"  (was  it  not  the  action  of  prevailing  popular 
opinion  ?)  that  at  the  same  period  of  time  the  British 
X*egislatui'e  was  giving  to  the  criminal  code  of  the 
country  that  Draconian  character  wliich  required 
tlie  reforming  labours  of  a  Romilly  and  a  Peel, 
before  it  could  be  restored  to  any  semblance  of 
the  Christian  standards  In  1752,  montlily  meet- 
ings had  been  empowered  to  extend  disownment 
as  well  to  "  parents  and  guardians  encouraging 
mixed  marriages,  as  to  the  parties  actually  con- 
cerned in  tliem.'"'*  Respecting  which,  Elizabeth 
Fry  remarks,  "  It  is  a  most  undue  and  unchristian 

*  Hides  of  IXiscipUna  and  Advices^  p.  100. 


"  MIXED  IVIARRIAGES,"  ETC. 


151 


restraint,  as  far  as  I  can  judge  of  it"*  In  1783, 
monthly  meetings  are  warned  against  acceptmg  "  in- 
sincere acknowledgments"  from  parties  who  had  so 

married. 

The  disorders  which  it  was  hoped  might  be  thus 
averted  were  undoubtedly  serious  in  their  character 
as  well  as  in  their  extent.  But  the  means  employed 
to  remedy  them  were  badly  adapted  to  attain  the 
desired  end.  Had  the  framers  of  tliis  penal  code 
been  more  deeply  versed  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
human  heart,  they  would  have  perceived  that  the 
period  of  marriage  is,  of  all  others,  the  one:  in  which 
the  attitude  of  the  Church  is  most  influential  in 
determining  tlie  subsequent  relation  between  it  and 
its  members.  Surely  the  scene  selected  hj  the  Lord 
Jesus  Clu-ist  himself  for  the  performance  Oi^  His  first 
miracle,  when  dwelling  personally  amongst  men,  and 
the  character  of  that  miracle,  might  have  taught  the 
obtusest  mind,  that  Christianity  was  to  pre  sent  itself 
in  its  most  attractive  guise  at  the  solemnization  of 
marriage,  and  that  the  requirements  of  the  Church 
should  be  simple,  indulgent,  and  attractive,  rather 
than  harsh,  complex,  and  repelling.  Unhappily, 
this  Divine  example  has  been  nearly  thrown  away 
on  the   Society  of  Friends.     Even   as  regards  the 

*  Life  of  Elizabeth  Fry,  1856,  p.  294. 


il 


152  QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  TRESENT. 

marriages  solemnized  according  to  its  regulations, 
cumbrous  forms  were  maintained  long  after  the 
necessity  for  them  had  ceased;  and  whilst  the 
Yearly  Meeting  directs  certain  practical  "advices" 
on  the  right  performance  of  the  varied  duties  of 
life  (excellent  in  sentiment  and  beautiful  in  expres- 
sion), to  be  frequently  read  in  its  meetings  for  dis- 
cipline, they  are  silent  on  the  subject  of  marriage ; 
and  in  none  of  the  Society's  published  documents, 
does  it  help  its  junior  members  to  a  knowledge  of 
what  are  the  conditions  of  happiness  in  married  life. 
Thus  the  natural  associations  of  the  younger  Friends 
who  attend  meetings  for  discipline,  are  connected 
with  the  disownment  of  those  marrying  contrary 
to  rule  (cases  of  this  sort  being  constantly  on  "  the 
books"),  and  with  the  yearly  answering  of  the 
harshly  worded  "  query,"  "  Is  early  care  taken  to 
admonish  such  as  appear  inclined  to  marry  in  a 
manner  contrary  to  the  rules  of  our  Society,  and 
in  due  time  to  deal  with  such  as  persist  in  refusing 
to  take  counsel  ?  "  * 

Experience  might  have  taught  the  Quaker  legis- 
lators of  the  eighteenth  century,  that  the  direction 
of  mankind  in  the  affair  of  marriage,  is  one  of  the 
most  difficult  and  delicate  tasks  that  can  be  under- 
*  Book  of  Rules  and  Advices^  p.  218,  Query  xiii. 


DISOWNMENTS  FOR  MARRIAGE. 


153 


taken,  and  that  it  is  pre-eminently  one  in  which, 
whilst  men  may  be  influenced  by  Christiar.  counsel, 
by  public  opinion,  by  education,  and  by  p(irsuasion, 
it  is  also  one  in  which  they  will  not  be  driven  or 
dragooned.  But  the  latter  policy  is  short,  sum- 
mary, and  easy ;  the  former  requires  ability,  dis- 
crimination, patience,  and  strong  faith  in  principles. 
The  latter  was  chosen  by  the  Quakers  of  the;  "middle 
ao-e,"  and  has  been  maintained,  with  little  relaxation, 
to  the  present  day.  We  consider  it  as  the  most 
influential  proximate  cause  of  the  numerical  decline 
of  the  Society. 

What  number  of  members  were  separated  on  this 
account  during  the  eighteenth  century  is  not  known, 
but  it  is  proved  to  have  been  very  large  indeed. 
Within  the  present  half-century  the  numbers  have 
been  ascertained  with  substantial  accuracy  during 
the  late  agitation  of  this  question.  By  examina- 
tion of  the  records  of  numerous  monthly  meetings, 
it  appears  that  in  many  of  them  one-third  of 
those  who  marry,  select  partners  not  of  their  own 
community:  thus,  from  1837  to  1854,  in  the  largest 
monthly  meeting  in  England  (comprising  the  chief 
towns  in  the  west  of  Yorkshire),  one  hundred  and 
thirteen  Friends  married  agreeably  to  the  Society's 
regulations,  and  sixty-one  contrary  to  them;  these 


154         QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


last  being  in  consequence   all   disowned.     The  his- 
tory of  Ackworth  School  scholars,  drawn  prmcipally 
from  the  middle  classes  of   society,   and  from  all 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  gives  similar  results.    Of  eight 
hundred  and  fifty-one  boys  educated  in  tliat    esta- 
blishment whose  marriages  have  been  ascertained,  five 
hundred  and  forty-seven  were  "  in  accordance  with 
rule,"  three  hundred  and  four  in  opposition.     Other 
evidence  might  be  adduced,  all  tending  to  show  that 
about  one-third  of  the  Friends  who  marry,  choose 
partners  not  members  of  the  Society,  and  in  takmg 
that  step  lose  their  membership.    From  the  records  of 
the  Society,  and  the  reports  of  the  Registrar-General, 
it  appears  that  between  1800  and  1855,  four  thousand 
four  hundred  and  ninety-nine  marriages  were  solem- 
nized in  Quaker  meeting-houses,  representing  eight 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety-eight  persons ;  and 
it  follows  from  the  evidence  just  given  tliat  about  half 
that  number,  or  upwards  of  four  tJiousand  persons, 
will  have  married  contrary  to  the  Society's  regula- 
tions during  the  same  period,  and  in  consequence 
have  been  disowned.*     Nor  will  the  number  rein- 
stated in  membership  materially  affect  our  calcula- 
tions ;  it  is  very  small,  probably  not  at  all  exceeding 

*  See  Statements  on  the  Marriage  Regulations  of  the  Society  oj 
JFriendsy  by  J.  B. 


DISOWNIVIENTS  EOR  MARRIAGE. 


155 


the  number  who  voluntarily  resign  tlieir  inember- 
sliip  when  intending  to  marry  contrary  to  iiile,  and 
so  do  not  appear  in  these  numbers.  In  fact^  it  could 
hardly  be  otherwise;  persons  cast  out  of  a  church 
for  such  a  reason,  having  committed  no  moral  ofience, 
it  may  even  be  for  an  act  that  has  added  greatly  to 
their  happiness,  and  on  which  the  blessing  of  Heaven 
has  rested,  are  not  usually  eager  to  return  to  a  com- 
mmiity  which  so  curtails  the  religious,  liberty  of  its 
members.  Many  feel  they  have  been  harshly  dealt 
with,  and  retire  in  disgust.  Otliers  go  to  swell  the 
ranks  of  tliose  "  m  profession,"  but  not  in  ^^  member- 
ship." These  persons  constitute  nearly  one -third  of 
all  tlie  worshippers  in  the  Society's  meeting-houses, 
and  are  more  of  Friends  than  of  any  other  profession ; 
schools  are  supported  specially  for  their  chilciren,  and 
in  other  ways  they  are  recognized  by  the  Society, 
yet  if  a  '^member"  marries  a  party  so  circumstanced 
disownment  is  probably  the  consequence.  Disown- 
ment — the  heaviest  penalty  imposable  by  a  Christian 
church— is  inflicted  for  marriage,  where  tliere  may 
have  been  complete  identity  of  religious,  feeling 
between  the  parties,  and  simply  because  they  were 
married  at  the  Registrar's  office  instead  of  the 
meeting-house^  Could  aught  be  fiirther  removed 
firom  the  ideas  of  him  who  wished  "  not  tc»  leave  a 


156  QUAKEKISM:    PAST  AND  TKESENT. 

hoof  in  Egypt  ?  "     Surely  ecclesiastical  history  does 
not  present  a  more  palpable  case  of  failure,  in  endea- 
vouring  to    attain  a  desirable  end  through   wrong 
means.     Nor  does  it,  we  apprehend,  record  another 
instance  of  so  deliberate  an  act  of  suicide  on  the  part 
of  a  Church,  as  to  persevere  for  a  series  of  years  in 
disowning  from  one-quarter  to  one-third  of  all  its 
members  who  married.     The  fact  that  these  mar- 
riages increas.e  in  frequency  rather  than  the   con- 
trary, and  that  disownment  no  longer  implies  any 
necessary  connection  with  moral  turpitude,  is  a  tell- 
ing proof  of  the  impotency  of  an  excessive  penalty, 
to   prevent  the  commission  of  an  act  not   morally 
wrong,  as  well  as  of  the  extent  to  which  a  powerful 
weapon  for  church  discipline  may  be  rendered  useless 
by  unwise  or  indiscriminate  application. 

We  make  no  apology  for  occupying  so  much 
space  with  this  portion  of  our  subject,  for  it  will  be 
at  once  seen,  that  the  disownment  of  four  thousand 
adult  members  just  at  that  period  of  hfe  when  most 
likely  to  add  to  the  strength  of  the  Society,  more 
than  explains  its  numerical  diminution  during  the 
present  century ;  for  if  we  assume  that  one  quarter, 
or  even  one-half  of  these  persons  would  have  left  it 
if  they  had  not  been  ejected,  the  natural  increase  of 
population  in  the  remainder  would  have  more  than 


INFREQUENCY  OF  MARRIAGE. 


157 


compensated  for  the  diminution  of  five  thousand  four 
hundred  members,  the  number  by  which  tha  Society 
appears  to  have  been  reduced  since  the  year  1800. 
Well  may  we  adopt  the  exclamation  of  a  talented 
American  authoress:  "  Rich  indeed  must  be  that 
Church  which  can  spare  such  members  for  such  a 


cause. 


5> 


In  connection  with  this  subject  it  may  be  conve- 
nient to  call  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  signi- 
ficant fact,  that  notwithstanding  the  entire  absence 
of  destitution,  marriage  in  the  Society  of  Friends 
is  one-fifth  less  frequent  than  in  the  population  at 
large.*  The  causes  of  this  curious  statistical  fact 
are  not  difficult  to  discover.  The  supei'ior  edu- 
cation bestowed  on  the  children  of  the  pocr,  has  so 
diminished  that  class  of  persons,  as  almost  to  have  de- 
stroyed the  stratum  of  society  amongst  the  Friends, 
in  which  marriages  are  usually  most  frequent, 
and  in  which  they  are  contracted  earlies:  in  life. 
This  we  take  to  be  the  chief  reason  ;  but  there 
can  be  no  doubt  the  impediments  placed  in  the 
way  of  marriage  within  the  Society  by  the  fewness 
of  its  members,  and  the  consequent  limined  range 
of  choice  open  to  parties,  especially  at  the;  two  ex- 
tremes of  the  social  scale  in  which  fewest  Friends 

*  See  Note  3,  page  77. 


;;|      5 


158  QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


t 


are  found— the  affluent  and  tlie  poor— renders  it 
impossible  for  many  persons  to  find  suitable  part- 
ners, and  therefore,  if  unwilling  to  lose  their  mem- 
bership, they  remain  unmarried.  It  was  said  by 
John  Bright,  M.P.,  in  a  late  Yearly  Meeting,  that 
'^  strangers  becoming  acquainted  with  the  social 
condition  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  express  great 
astonishment  at  the  number  of  competent,  clever 
women  amongst  Friends  suitable  to  make  excellent 
wives,  and  to  adorn  any  position,  who  nevertheless 
remain  unmarried."  As  this  infrequency  of  mar- 
riage represents  an  equivalent  infrequency  of  births, 
another  cause  of  the  numerical  decline  of  Quakerism 
is  thus  clearly  exhibited. 


159 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


SUMMARY  OF  PRECEDING  ARGUMENT. 


"  There  is  nothing  so  revolutionary,  because  there  ii  nothing  so 
unnatural  and  so  convulsive  to  society,  as  the  strain  to  keep  things 
fixed  when  all  the  world  is,  by  the  very  law  of  its  creation,  in 
eternal  progress ;  and  the  cause  of  all  the  evils  in  the  world  may 
be  traced  to  that  natural  but  most  deadly  error  of  human  indolence 
and  corruption,  that  our  business  is  to  preserve  and  not  to  improve.'* 
— Db.  Aenold. 


Our  task,  now  drawing  to  a  close,  has  been  a  some- 
what ungrateful  one.  The  nature  of  the  subject  has 
compelled  us  to  dwell  chiefly  on  the  defects  of 
Quakerism,  to  disclose  its  weak  points,  to  exhibit 
the  mistakes  of  its  defenders,  and  to  trace  the  con- 
nection existing  between  such  mistakes  and  its  pre- 
sent decrepit  condition.  It  would  have  been  a 
more  inviting  employment,  but  a  less  useful  one,  to 
have  unfolded  the  happier  aspects  undtjr  which 
Quakerism  has  displayed  itself;  to  have  shown  how 
much  it  really  has  accomplished  for  the  cause  of 
truth,  and  how  beneficially  it  has  influenced  the 


If  I 


w 


ll 


fl 


if  • 


160  QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

theology  of  tlie  whole  professhig  Church ;    to  have 
told  of  its  noble  struggle  for  liberty  of  conscience, 
of  its  practical  philanthropy,  of  its  zeal  for  popular 
education,  of  its  unfaltering  protest  against  war;  or 
to  have  painted  a  lovely,  because  a  faithful,  picture  of 
the  exceeding  happiness  that  dwells  round  hundreds 
of  « Friends'  firesides."      But  such  a  course  would 
have  been  useless  to  the  Society,  and  it  might  have 
been  mischievous,  by  stimulating  the  error  too  pre- 
valent amongst  its  members,  of  relying  on  the  prestige 
of  their  predecessors,  and  of  adducing  the  numerous 
bri-ht  examples  of  catholic  piety  and  Christian  self- 
devotedness,  who  within  the  present  century  have 
adorned  their  section  of  the  Church,  as  a  sufficient 
answer  to  all  who  speak  of  lessening  numbers  and 

declining  strength. 

Before  laying  down  the  pen,  let  us  endeavour,  as 
succinctly  as  may  be,  to  review  the  ground  traversed 
in  the  preceding  pages,  and  to  present,  in  a  condensed 
form,  i^ne  causes  that  appear  to  have  prevented  the 
realization  of  those  lofty  hopes  which  inspired  the 
bosoms  of  the  "  early  Friends."  And  not  the  "  early 
Friends"  alone,  but  impartial  and  philosophic  con- 
temporaries of  other  persuasions,  might  reasonably 
have  predicted  a  far  brighter  destiny  for  Quakerism 
than  that  which  it  has  actually  fulfilled.     The  con- 


CONCLUDING  CHAPTER. 


161 


jecture  may  be  permitted,  that  amongst  the  crowd 
who  thronged  Bunhill  Fields  on  Friday  inoming, 
the  16th  November,  1690,  assisting  at  the  obsequies 
of  George  Fox,  and  listening  to  the  polished  e]  oquence 
of  William  Penn,  there  may  have  been  at  least 
one  individual,  who  seriously  pondered  the  probable 
future  of  the  system,  whose  founder  had  now  passed 
from  among  men,  but  whose  name  was  indelibly 
^*  inscribed  in  the  Pantheon  of  history."  Success, 
such  an  observer  might  have  supposed,  w^ould  attend 
the  further  development  of  an  outburst  of  Chris- 
tianity so  vigorous  as  Quakerism  appeared  in  1690, 
which,  after  forty  years  of  incessant  persecution, 
could  point  to  an  organized  body  of  sixty  or  seventy 
thousand  adherents  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  to 
flourishing  congregations  in  other  parts  of  Europe, 
and  to  more  than  one  great  colony  it  had  founded  in 
the  Western  World.  Surely  now  that  persecution  was 
abated,  the  experience  of  the  new  Society  ^rould  be 
like  that  of  the  churches  in  Palestine,  when  they  "had 
rest,"  and  "  walking  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  in  the 
comfort  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  be  "  multiplied."  Our  hy- 
pothetical philosopher  might  have  argued,  thai  a  faith 
which  promised  to  its  recipients  an  inward  liglit,  guid- 
ing them  through  the  perplexities  of  time  to  tlie  glories 
of  eternity — a  faith  which  rejected  everything  savour- 
id 


162  QUAKERISM:  PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

ing  of  priestcraft,  teaching  every  Christian  that  he 
^rs  a  priest,  capable  of  holding  immediate  communion 
with  "the  Father  of  spirits"-a  faith  claiming  the 
most  absolute  Uberty  of  conscience,  fully  recognizing 
the  brodierhood  of  man,  and  assigning  a  higher  social 
and  religious  standing  to  woman  than  she  had  ever 
before  enjoyed  ;-such  a  faith  would  surely  extend 
amongst  men,  notwithstanding  the  strict  morality 
and  personal  sacrifices  which  it  demanded  of  its  fol- 
lowers.      Much  more  in  the  same  strain  he  might 
have  justly  argued,  and  he  might  have  referred  to 
the   evidences   of  reality  akeady  furnished   by  the 
Quaker  faith,  in  the  support  it  had  afforded  to  deli- 
cate  women  and  children,  as  well  as  to  soldiers  who 
had  "  chai'ged  on  Tilly's  line  "  in  their  unflinching. 
Christian  endurance  of  proti'acted  persecution.     Spe- 
culations like  these  would  not  have  been  unreasonable. 
How  have  they  been  realized  ? 

We  have  shown  that  as  regai'ds  numbers  they  have 
been  entirely  falsified;  that  the  Society  of  Friends 
attained  its  numerical  meridian  in  iliis  island  about 
the  year  1680,  and  that  in  the  next  one  hundred  and 
twenty  years  its  decline  was  continuous,  reducmg  its 
numbers  by  the  year  1800  to  one-half  of  what  tliey 
had  been  at  their  liighest  point  During  the  present 
century  this  decline  has  progressed  stiU  further,  and 


CONCLUDING  CHAPTER. 


163 


there  are  now  not  more  than  twenty-six  thcjusand 
persons  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  professing  with 
Friends.  Within  the  last  one  hundred  and  sighty 
years  the  population  of  the  United  Kingdom  has 
trebled,  but  the  Society  of  Friends  has  dimiiiished 
nearly  two-thirds.  To  the  autlior's  mind,  the  causes 
described  in  the  preceding  pages  amply  explain  this 
extensive  decline ;  and  at  the  termination  of  liis  in- 
vestigations, while  still  lamenting  the  fact,  he  has 
altogether  ceased  to  marvel  at  the  great  diminution 
of  the  Society  of  Friends. 

Apprehending  that  any  inquiry  into  the  wcTking 
of  Quakerism  would  be  defective  and  unsatisfactory 
which  left  out  of  sight  the  circumstances  attendant 
on  its  origin,  we  endeavoured  at  the  outset  to  com- 
press into  one  brief  chapter  some  of  the  salient  fea- 
tures of  that  memorable  e])och,  which  was  drawino- 
to  a  close  when  the  Society  of  Friends  arose.     The 
English  Reformation  was  a  movement  promoted  for 
various   objects,  and  carried  on   by  very  difi'erent 
agents;   it  accompHshed  much  for  the  interests  of 
religion ;  it  purified  the  AngUcan  Church  from  the 
grosser  errors  of  the  Romish  apostasy,  and  for  so 
doing  it  demands  the  lively  gratitude  of  every  Pro- 
testant ;  but  in  many  respects  it  disappointed  th2  ex- 
pectations of  its  best  friends.     It  deprived  the  clergy 

M  2 


164  QUAKEKISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

of  the  mediatorial  powers   claimed  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  priesthood,  but  it  left  them  a  body  of  men 
distinct  from  the  laity,  occupying  a  position,  by  virtue 
of  their  sacerdotal  office,  superior  to  that  of  other 
members  of  the  Church— a  position  that  the  Friends 
have  ever  regarded  as  inconsistent  with  the  full  re- 
cognition of  the  priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ.    Glancing 
at  the  history  of  England  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth, 
James  I.,  and  Charles  I.,  the  outside  idea  of  rehgion 
entertained   by  the   politicians  of  those   times  at- 
tracted attention,  as  did  also  the  double  aspect  of 
social   life— the   puritanic  and  the   licentious— pre- 
sented in  the  earlier  part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Tracing  the  operation  of  these  circumstances  consen- 
taneously with  the  stirring  political  events  of  the  age, 
its  incessant  theological   controversies,  the   general 
imsettlement  in  religious  opinions,  the  Judaizing  theo- 
logy and  practices  of  the  Puritans  (more  offensively 
developed  in  the  latter  years  of  their  history),  we  ob- 
served the  preparation  that  was  taking  place  in  the 
minds  of  multitudes,  for  the  reception  of  a  spiritual 
declaration  of  Christianity.      It  is  then,  no  matter  of 
surprise  that  George  Fox  found  ready  listeners  to  his 
denunciations  of  "  forms  and  shadows,"  of  priestcraft, 
and,  in  short,  of  all  that  seemed  to  him  to  interpose 
between  God  and  man,  when,  emerging  from  the  men- 


CONCLUDING  CHAPTER. 


165 


tal  exercises  that  had  so  long  overwhelmed  him,  he 
awoke  to  the  perception  of  the  excellency  of  spiritual 
piety,  and  taught  that  its  internal  heart-work  was  the 
essential  part  of  true  religion.  His  mission  was  to 
direct  men  to  the  "  Spirit  of  Christ  in  theij*  own 
hearts ;"  to  bring  them  in  mind  and  conscience  imme- 
diately to  Christ  as  their  Lord  and  Master ;  to  incite 
them  to  obey  the  teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  indivi- 
dually manifested  in  all  things,  that  so  their  religion 
might  be  a  positive,  practical,  ever-present  power, 
influencing  the  minutest  actions  of  life,  and  c  onsti- 
tuting  a  standing  protest  against  all  merely  jipecu- 
lative  or  theoretic  systems.  This  spiritual  conc(3ption 
of  Christianity  was  the  keystone  of  Quakerism.  It 
came  upon  the  primitive  Friends  with  all  the  fresh- 
ness of  a  new  discovery,  though  they  steadily  decjlared 
it  was  no  new  doctrine  they  preached ;  that  they  were 
merely  instrumental  in  reviving  forgotten  truths; 
that  they  were  called  to  complete  the  work  of  re- 
formation from  Popery,  left  unfinished  by  theu*  pre- 
decessors. Quakerism  was  the  last  wave  of  the 
Reformation. 

In  a  certain  sense,  the  greatest  truths  of  religion 
are  the  simplest — so  simple,  that  "wayfaring  men, 
though  fools,"  receive  them,  when  enlightened  from 
above,  in  all  their  life-giving  efficacy,  equally  with 


166         QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

the  profoundest  philosopher ;  and  yet  it  would  seem 
as  if  the  very  greatness  of  a  truth  exposed  it  to  in- 
creased danger  of  distortion  and  misapprehension. 
What  doctrine  of  Christianity  more  vital  than  "jus- 
tification by  faith"?  but  what  doctrine  has  been  more 
obscured  and  perverted?  Have  any  heresies  been 
more  extensive  than  those  relating  to  the  Divinity 
of  Jesus  Christ?  and  is  not  Mahometanism  itself  a 
perversion  of  that  fundamental  truth — the  Unity  of 
God  ?  In  like  manner,  "  that  crowning  blessing  of 
the  Gospel,  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit,"*  Vould 
seem  to  be  pecuharly  liable  to  misapprehension, 
and  to  erroneous  or  ill-proportioned  exposition.  It 
has  been  a  prominent  object  of  tlie  present  essay  to 
prove  that,  in  failing  fully  to  discern,  or  accept,  the 
divinely  appointed  conditions  under  which  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  ordinarily  administered, 
the  founders  of  Quakerism  unconsciously  implanted 
those  seeds  of  decay  which — nurtured  by  successive 
generations — have  borne  their  natural  and  destructive 
fruits. 

Whilst  the  doctrine  of  "the  indwelhng  Word"  was 
additional  to,  and  not  in  substitution  of,  their  pre- 
vious theology,  it  appears  to  the  writer,  that  the 
early  Friends,  in  magnifying  a  previously  slighted 

*  Caird's  Sermons,  p.  32. 


CONCLUDING  CHAPTER. 


167 


-^ 
i 


truth,  fell  into  the  natural  error  of  giving  it  rela- 
tively an  undue  place,  so  depriving  their  represen- 
tations of  Christian  truth,  of  the  symmetry  they 
would  otherwise  have  possessed,  and  influencing 
their  practices  and  those  of  their  successors  in  a 
twofold  manner,  negatively  as  well  as  positively. 
Under  the  latter  head  we  examined  the  Society's 
practice  in  refusing  to  pay  tithes  and  other  eccle- 
siastical demands,  its  mode  of  worship,  its  views 
respecting  preaching,  prayer,  the  disuse  of  symbolic 
rites,  &c. ;  under  the  former,  or  negative  influence, 
its  disparagement  of  the  human  reason,  its  once 
inadequate  estimate  of  the  value  of  Holy  Sciipture, 
and  its  seclusive  system  of  church  government. 
Not  only  did  the  founders  of  Quakerism  oj:ganize 
their  Church  in  conformity  with  the  belief,  that  the 
existence  of  a  human  hierarchy  militates  against  the 
full  acknowledgment  of  Christ  as  the  only  high 
priest  and  head  of  His  Church,  governing  it  imme- 
diately by  His  Spirit,  and  constituting  the  entire 
company  of  believers  a  holy  priesthood,  btit  they 
also  refused  to  make  any  pecuniary  payments  for  the 
support  of  a  humanly  appointed  ministry.  A  great 
proportion  of  the  first  Friends  had  been  Puritans; 
and  whilst  the  faith  they  adopted  might  be  regarded 
as  a  reaction  from  Puritanism,  they  carried  witb  them 


168         QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

into  the  new  Society  many  of  their  former  ideas 
and  practices,  and  much  of  the  Puritan  phraseology. 
Amongst  these  ideas  was  a  strong  belief  in  the 
authority  of  the  Church  to  direct  the  conduct  of 
its  members  in  external  matters  of  secondary  im- 
portance. Thus,  whilst  claiming  from  the  civil 
power  the  utmost  liberty  of  conscience,  they  did 
not  always  allow  it  to  their  own  followers,  but 
made  obedience  to  the  regulations  of  the  "Yearly 
Meeting"  an  essential  of  chhrch  fellowship — even 
when  these  regulations  were  destitute  of  direct 
scriptural  authority.  This  contraction  of  the  basis 
on  which  Christian  fellowship  rests,  has  been  one  of 
the  weakest  points  of  Quakerism.  We  have  adverted 
to  it  more  than  once ;  and,  in  connection  with  tithes, 
church-rates,  &c.,  have  expressed  the  opinion  that 
serious  injury  has  been  inflicted  by  compelling  per- 
sons, irrespective  of  individual  conviction,  to  refuse 
the  payment  of  these  pecuniary  charges. 

The  same  views  which  occasioned  the  Friends 
thus  strenuously  to  resist  payments  for  the  support 
of  a  clerical  order,  determined  their  own  mode  of 
public  worship.  Recognizing  no  one  as  authorized 
to  preach  or  prophesy,  except  under  the  immediate 
direction  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  no  one  is  preappointed 
to  minister  to  his  brethren  in  meetings  for  Divine 


CONCLUDING   CHAPTER. 


169 


worship;  but  the  whole  congregation  sits  down  in 
silence,  waiting  upon  God,  and  any  one  believing 
himself  required  to  preach,  or  to  offer  vocal  prayer, 
is  at  liberty  to  do  so.  We  presented  exterisive  evi- 
dence, proving  how  numerous  were  the  ministers  at 
the  rise  of  the  Societv,  and  how  much  tiie  meet- 
ings  for  worship  at  that  time  were  occupied  with 
vocal  exercises,  and  contrasted  them  with  those  of 
after  times,  which  are  frequently  silent,  sabbath 
after  sabbath,  for  months  together.  The  injurious 
results  of  the  absence  of  vocal  instruction,  in  making 
the  worship  of  God  specially  distasteful  to  the  young 
and  the  unconverted,  is  too  obvious  to  require  elabo- 
rate proof.  Regarding  silent  waiting  on  God  as  one 
form,  and  perhaps  the  highest,  in  which  the  adora- 
tion of  the  heart  may  be  offered  to  Him,  ^ve  appre- 
hend the  Friends  have  greatly  erred  in  maintaining  it 
to  be  the  only  form  of  worship  which  He  acc^epts,  and 
that  from  its  being  adapted  only  to  certain  orders 
and  conditions  of  mind,  the  character  of  public  wor- 
ship, as  it  is  now  ordinarily  presented  in  the  meet- 
ings of  the  Friends,  constitutes  an  important  cause 
of  the  fewness  of  their  numbers.  It  is  admitted 
by  Robert  Barclay,  in  his  celebrated  Apohgy,  that 
some  human  arrangements  are  needful  for  the  per- 
formance of  public  worship ;  and  these  arrangements 


--«  -.^  .*  ..- 


170         QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

not  being  defined  in  Scripture,  their  precise  extent 
and  character  is  a  question  not  necessarily  of  prin- 
ciple, but  of  degree,  to  be  determined  bj  observation 
and  experience. 

A  striking  extract  from  George  Fox's  Journal 
showed  how  his  attention  was  directed  to  the  para- 
lysing influence  of  an  eagerness  to  be  rich  in 
dwarfing  the  gift  of  the  ministry,  and  preventing 
individuals  from  entering  on  its  exercise;  the  pre- 
valence of  that  conunercial  prosperity  to  which  the 
profession  of  Quakerism  is  specially  favourable,  has 
continued  to  operate,  and,  perhaps  in  an  equal  or 
greater  degree,  the  existence  of  unhealthy  ideas  as 
to  the  high  amount  of  spiritual  direction  required 
to  authorize  Gospel  ministry,  and  a  deficient  percep- 
tion of  the  difierence  between  *^  prophesying "  and 
^^  religious  teaching."  During  the  lifetime  of  George 
Fox,  his  personal  influence  was  exerted  to  stimu- 
late, though  at  the  same  time  to  regulate,  minis- 
terial labours ;  but  in  the  course  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  when  the  fervour  of  the  body  cooled,  when 
its  aggressive  action  ceased,  the  influence  of  the 
Church  was  exerted  in  a  direction  contrary  to  that 
indicated,  both  by  revelation  and  experience,  as  most 
conducive  to  the  maintenance  of  a  healthy  and 
powerful  ministry.     Even  in  apostolic  times  it  was 


CONCLUDING  CHAPTER. 


171 


needful  to  stir  men  up  to  desire  spiritual  gifts,  to 
"covet  the  gift  of  prophesying,"*  and  to  "make 
full  proof  of  their  ministry." |  If  in  those  days 
of  Pentecostal  eff*usions,  and  of  lively,  losing  zeal, 
ministerial  action  required  to  be  stimulat(}d  rather 
than  repressed,  how  unwise  is  a  policy  ivhich,  in 
a  time  of  religious  lukewarmness,  does  aught  to 
discourage  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel !  Such,  we 
believe,  was  the  unintentional  effect  of  thei  Quaker 
teaching  and  legislation  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  such  must  continue  to  be  the  effect  of  claiming 
a  degree  of  authority  for  the  exercise  cf  Gospel 
ministry,  unsanctioned  by  Scripture.  Except  in  the 
Society's  first  rise,  the  gift  of  religious  tea<;hing  has 
also  been  much  neglected,  and  it  cannot  be  doubted 
that  this  neglect  has  induced  very  prejudicial  results. 
The  New  Testament  so  fully  recognizes  *^  teaching  " 
as  one  of  the  gifts,  not  merely  of  temporary  con- 
tinuance, like  that  of  "  tongues,"  but  of  permanent 
necessity,  that  no  Church  can  neglect  its  exercise 
with  impunity;  and  its  absence  was  specially  in- 
jurious to  a  body  whose  public  ministry  was  less 
intellectual  in  its  character,  than  that  of  most  other 
Churches. 

Everything  which  militates  against  th(;  mainte- 


*  iCor.  xii.  31. 


t  2  Tim,  iy.  6. 


172         QUAKERISM:    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

nance  of  personal  piety  within  a  Church,  is  necessai'ily 
an  occasion  of  its  decline,  botli  in  numbers  and  in- 
fluence ;  and  connected  with  the  passive  character  of 
its  public  worship,  the  declension  of  its  ministry,  and 
the  neglect  of  the  gift  of  teaching,  was  an  inadequate 
use  of  the  privilege  of  prayer,  originating,  Hke  the 
points  above  enumerated,  in  exaggerated  expectations 
of  the  extent  and  character  of  immediate  Divine 
action  on  the  mind  and  feehngs.  Truly  it  is  only  by 
the  help  of  the  Spirit  that  men  can  "  pray,  and  pray 
aright;"  but  when  this  doctrine  has  been  so  urged 
as  to  lead  persons  to  expect  sensible  intimations  of  its 
being  a  duty  to  pray,  instead  of  finding  the  all-suffi- 
cient warrant  in  the  sense  of  need  (a  sense  begotten 
by  the  Holy  Spirit),  it  has  occasioned  some,  through 
fear  of  praying  amiss,  to  neglect  prayer  altogether. 
Extracts  from  the  Society's  own  documents  prove 
that  this  result  has  been  experienced  by  its  mem- 
bers. 

The  Society  of  Friends  differs  in  its  practice  from 
most  other  Churches,  by  rejecting  the  symbolic  rites 
of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  Without  enter- 
ing into  the  merits  of  the  controversy,  whether  the 
continued  celebration  of  these  rites  is  authorized  by 
Scripture  or  not,  we  instanced  the  practice  of  the 
Society,  in  making  their  non-observance  an  essential 


CONCLUDING  CHAPTER. 


173 


of  church  fellowship,  as  another  illustration  of  un- 
wisely narrowing  the  basis  on  which  that  fellowship 

rests. 

The  division  we  have  attempted  to  draw  between 
the  positive  and  negative  results  of  unduly  exalting 
the  doctrine  of  the  "  inward  light,"  is  a  somewhat 
arbitrary  one,  and   the  propriety  of  assigning   the 
disparagement  of  reason  to  the  negative  class,  may 
be  questioned,  inasmuch  as  its  effects  can  be  traced 
through    many  ramifications,   of    doctrire    and    of 
practice.      Instances  might   be  multiplied   from  the 
voluminous  writings  of  George  Fox,  and  still  more 
so  from  those  of  his  colleagues,  showing  that  they 
sometimes  wrote  and  acted  under  the  idea  that,  by 
silencing  the  reason  as  well  as  the  natural  will,  and 
by  assigning  a  very  subordinate  position  to  the  exer- 
cise of  the  intellectual  faculties  in  ever}  thing  con- 
nected w^ith  religion,  they  honoured  God,  and  made 
way   for   the   immediate   operations    of   l^is    Spirit. 
From  the  analogy  of  nature,  and  from  tlie  ordinary 
method  of  the  Divine  government,  we  deduced  the 
conclusion  that  God  rarely  supersedes  His  own  works 
by  the  immediate  interpositions  of  His  providence ; 
but  that  while   every  good   thing   in   the   outward 
creation,  or  in  the  *^work  of  religion  in  the  soul," 
comes  from  Him,   He  is  usually  pleased  to   work 


QUAKERISM:    PAST   AXD  PRESENT. 

instrumentally,  and  to  bestow  the  help  of  His  Spirit 
in  unison  with  the  diligent  exercise  of  the  mental 
faculties.  We  apprehend  that  the  disregard  of  this 
great  fact,  and  the  consequent  neglect  of  the  culture 
of  the  understanding  in  connection  with  reli<rion, 
accounts  for  many  of  the  anomalies  of  Quakerism, 
and  is  an  influential  cause  of  its  declension.  It  has 
a  close  connection  with  the  want  of  religious  activity 
in  those  important  departments  of  service  already 
referred  to,  and  we  observed  its  effect  in  almost 
ignoring  the  aesthetic  element  in  man's  mental  con- 
stitution. From  the  measure  of  Quakerism  being 
thus  smaller  than  that  of  Christianity — from  only  ad- 
dressing itself  to  parts  of  human  nature,  instead  of  to 
the  whole,  its  powers  of  adaptation  were  hmited,  its 
general  diffusion  was  restrained,  and  hitherto,  it  has 
been  nearly  confined  within  the  limits  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  family. 

The  contracted,  legal  use  of  the  Scriptures  by  the 
Puritans,  explains  why  the  "  early  Friends,"  deeply 
conversant  with  the  sacred  volume  themselves,  and 
constantly  appealing  to  it,  were  yet  so  jealous  in 
maintaining  its  inferiority  "  to  the  Spirit  that  gave 
it  forth  ;"  and  though  this  mode  of  speaking  might  be 
harmless  to  them,  and  not  without  its  use  to  their 
Puritan  opponents,  yet,  when  it  became  part  of  a 


CONCLUDING  CHAPTER, 


175 


traditional  plu'aseology — when  the  Bible  W2.s  not  read 
in  meetings  for  worship,  nor  regularly  in  the  domestic 
circle — the  consequences,  by  allowing  a  wide-spread 
ignorance  of  scriptural  truth,  were  most  hurtful  to 
the  growth  of  vital  religion.  To  this  cause  must  be 
attributed  not  a  little  of  the  lethargy  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  as  well  as  the  origin  of  those  desolating 
heresies  which  have  distracted  and  enfeebled  the 
Quaker  churches  of  Ireland  and  America.  Family 
Scripture  readings  having  become  general  within 
the  last  fifty  years,  the  evil  here  described  is  greatly 
diminished,  and  is  now  confined  within  very  narroT^ 
limits. 

Somewhat  resembling  its  practice  in  ]'elation  to 
the  Scriptures,  was  the  course  pursued  by  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends  in  regard  to  education.  Detailing 
its  experience  in  tliis  particular,  we  noticed  that  the 
confusion  of  idea,  resulting  from  mistaken  views  as 
to  the  immediate  teaching  of  the  Spirit,  assumed  a 
dangerous  and  enthusiastic  form  in  the  early  years 
of  the  Society's  history  ;  some  parents  professing  to 
believe,  that  by  omitting  to  train  or  instruct  their 
children,  they  favoured  the  immediate  teachings  or 
the  Spirit  of  God.  Extracts  from  George  Fox's 
Epistles  were  adduced,  in  which  he  gra])ples  with 
this  delusion ;  he  ever  insisted  on  the  importance  of 


176  QUAKERISM:    PAST   AND   PRESENT. 

sound  reliirious  education,  and  we  noticed  some  of  the 
steps  he  took  to  promote  it.  His  successors  con- 
tinued their  labours  for  its  advancement,  with 
limited  success,  until  the  foundation  of  Ackworth 
School,  in  1779.  Very  unfavourable  was  the  posi- 
tion of  children  in  relation  to  education  before  that 
time,  and  we  unite  in  the  opinion  expressed  by 
writers  of  that  period,  that  to  the  want  of  careful 
religious  education,  much  of  the  loss  of  members 
in  the  eighteenth  century  may  be  attributed.  In 
the  present  century  education  has  been  greatly  im- 
proved in  quality,  and  extended  in  amount,  and 
we  drew  attention  to  the  economic  facts,  that  this 
diffusion  of  intelligence  had  lessened  the  number 
of  poor,  stimulated  the  emigration  of  young  men 
from  the  agricultural  districts,  diminished  the  fre- 
quency of  marriage,  and  the  consequent  frequency 
of  births ;  and  had  thus,  whilst  conferring  im- 
mense benefit  on  the  Society  at  large,  been  the 
unlocked  for  cause  of  lessening  its  numerical 
strength.  The  large  number  of  Ackworth  scholars 
who,  on  attaining  to  maturity,  leave  the  Church 
which  has  educated  them,  has  been  incidentally 
mentioned  in  another  part  of  our  paper,*  and  our 
educational  notice  would  be  imperfect  were  no  allu- 

*  See  Note  11,  p.  84.         * 


CONCLUDING    CHAPTER. 


177 


i 


sion  made  to  a  serious  defect  at  one  time  existing  in 
its  character,  though  at  the  present  day  one  of 
greatly  diminished  importance.  It  has  been  cbserved 
by  authors  without  the  pale  of  the  Society  of  .Friends, 
as  well  as  by  judicious  members  of  that  community, 
that  isolation  from  evil,  rather  than  a  prepai'ation  of 
the  heart  to  resist  evil,  has  been  too  much  sought  after. 
To  magnify  the  benefits  of  a  "  guarded  edi;:cation," 
was  natural  to  those  who  sought  safety  in  ''  hedo-es" 
and  "external  bulwarks;"  but  if  the  e\il  born 
within  the  human  heart  be  not  restrained  by  Chris- 
tian  principle— if  revealed  truth  be  not  intelligibly 
taught— when  children  grow  to  be  men  and  women, 
they  must  inevitably  find  that  the  endeavour  of  their 
friends  to  screen  them  from  evil,  is  no  effectual  pro- 
tection against  the  allurements  to  vice  with  which 
Satan  besets  their  path. 

Whilst  the  causes  which  have  been  enmnerated 
go  far  to  explain  that  declension  in  piety,  which 
succeeded  the  fervour  of  primitive  Quakerism,  we 
pause  when  entering  on  the  second  epocL  of  its 
history,  to  note  that  the  most  ample  effusions  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  have  rarely  extended  beyond  a 
period  of  forty  years ;  and  whilst  in  the  experience 
of  the  Friends  we  are  able  to  trace  with  unusual 
clearness  the  operation  of  secondary  causes,  it  must 

N 


I 


178         QUAKERISM  :     PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

not  be  overlooked  that  the  first  apostles  of  Quaker- 
ism enjoyed  a  larger  measure  of  spiritual  life  and 
power     than    was    continued    to    their    successors. 
Regarding  the  action  of  causes  which  are  without 
the  bounds   of  man's   control,  conjointly  with  the 
more  ob^dous  ones  that  have  been  adverted  to,  we 
cannot  be  surprised  that  the  Society,  when  no  longer 
kept  watchful  by  persecution,  sank  into  a  state  of 
lukewarmness ;    its  continuance  in  such  a  condition 
during  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  being 
favoured  by  a  like  condition  in  the  other  Churches 
of  Great  Britain,  national  and  dissenting.      During 
this  dark  period,  ^birthright  membership  almost  im- 
perceptibly established  itself.     The  consequences  of 
this  departure  from  the  New  Testament  idea  of  a 
Church  have,  as  it  appears  to  the  author,  been  ex- 
tensive and  of  serious  magnitude.      Not  only  does 
it  induce  the   retention   of  lifeless   members  in  the 
body,  who  are  at  Hberty  to  influence  its  discipline 
and  internal  government,  and  for  whose  conduct  it 
is  to  a  certain  extent  responsible  ;    not  only  does 
it  make  "  membersliip"  liable  to  be   esteemed  a 
burden  instead  of  a  privilege,  but   it  also   creates 
a  line  of  distinction   in   congregations    of  a   most 
artificial    character;     and   occasions    difficulties  in 
respect    to   the    oversight,    education,    relief,    and 


CONCLUDING  CHAPTER. 


179 


marriage  arrangements  of  non-members.  The  here- 
ditary character  it  impressed  on  Quakerism  increased 
the  tendency  which  it  already  possessed  to  exclu- 
siveness,  and  is  one  cause  of  its  non-proselytizino- 
character. 

Even  when  no  connection  can  be  discovered,  it  is 
interesting  to  observe  historical  s^Tichronisms;    and 
it  is  a  suggestive  fact  that  contemporaneous  with  the 
labours  of  Whitfield  and  the  Wesleys,  an  esitensive 
revival  took  place  in  Quakerism.     In  1760,  at  the 
suggestion  of  a  stranger  from  America,  th<3  Lon- 
don Yearly  Meeting  deputed  a  number  of  ii:s  most 
earnest  members  to  visit  all  its  subordinate   meet- 
ings, and  to  endeavour  to  resuscitate  the  diiscipline 
of  the  Church.      The  character  of  this  eLiborate 
system,   as    organized    by   George    Fox,   wci    have 
already  described.      Whilst  well  adapted  for  main- 
taining the   internal   purity  of  the  body,  W(j  drew 
the   attention  of  the   reader  to   its   seclusive?,  non- 
aggressive,  non-centralized  constitution.    When  first 
organized,    some   aggressive   action   was   associated 
with  its  working;    but  this  did  not  long  continue, 
and  in  the  revival  of  the  eighteenth  centurj^  most 
of  the  primary  defects  of  this  disciplinary  system 
present    themselves    in   an   aggravated    form,   and 
without  the  counteracting  influence  of  the   earlier 

N  2 


180         QUAKERISM  :    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

period.     Whilst  noting  the  errors  of  the  disciplina- 
rians of  the  eighteenth  century— which  we  believe 
to  have  been  neither  few  nor  small— a  high  meed  of 
praise  must  be  awarded   them   for  their  zeal  and 
single -mindedness    amidst    worse    than    Laodicean 
deadness ;   and  whilst  protesting  against  the  unwise 
severity  with  which  they  punished  venial  defections 
from  what  they  deemed    "the   testimonies   of  the 
Society,"   liberal   allowance   must   be  made  for  the 
difficult    position  they   occupied,   when    struggling 
with    wealthy,    influential,    worldly    men,    priding 
themselves  in  their  hereditary  connection  with  the 
Society  of  Friends,  but  unwilling  to  conform  to  the 
practical  requirements  of  the  Gospel.     The  defects 
of  the  resuscitated  discipline  were  shown  in  its  legal 
spirit,  in  the  harshness  with  which  it  ofttimes  treated 
offenders,  and  in  the  increasing  number  of  offences 
which  it  visited  with  the  penalty  of  expulsion ;   thus 
further  narrowing  the  grounds  of  church  fellowship. 
Great  numbers  of  disownments  took  place  between 
1760  and  1780  ;  some  for  acts  of  flagrant  immorality, 
but  many  others  for  breaches  of  the  Society's  "  tes- 
timonies," for  the  payment  of  tithes,  for  marriage 
«  contrary  to  rule,"  &c. ;  acts  not  immoral,  and  not 
even   necessarily  errors  of  judgment.      From  the 
period  now  under  review,  the  Society  of  Friends 


CONCLUDING  CHAPTER. 


181 


has  occupied  a  more  contracted  and  a  more  sectarian 
basis,  and  its  "  testimonies "  have  been  negative 
rather  than  positive.  The  renovators  of  17<30  made 
hardly  any  effort  to  restore  the  aggressive  element 
to  the  Society's  constitution — their  policy  ws,s  purely 
defensive ;  they  placed  great  reliance  on  penalties,  as 
means  for  preventing  misconduct,  and  thev  endea- 
voured to  erect  external  barriers  against  the  contami- 
nation of  the  world.  They  created  a  public  opinion 
which  enforced  conformity  to  a  costume  in  dress 
and  to  the  use  of  a  set  phraseology — "  pecu  iarities  " 
which,  having  originated  in  the  endeavour  to  maintain 
those  legitimate  requirements  of  religion,  simplicity 
in  dress  and  truthfulness  of  language,  deoenerated 
into  agents  for  maintaining  an  ascetic  isolation  from 
the  rest  of  mankind. 

Much  spiritual  loss,  we  apprehend,  was  sustained 
in  many  districts,  during  the  eighteenth  century,  from 
the  great  doctrine  of  Justification  by  faith  in  Christ 
being  inadequately  set  forth ;  and  in  a  previous  page 
of  this  volume,  it  has  been  stated  that  the  gloomy, 
mystical  view  of  religion  not  unfrequently  ])resented 
to  the  young,  coupled  with  unreasonable  require- 
ments respecting  matters  of  behaviour  and  attire, 
had  alienated  the  affections  of  many  young  persons 
from  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  induced  them  to 


182         QUAKERISM  :    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

leave  it  on  attaining  years  of  maturity.     But  the 
most  influential  of  the  proximate  causes  of  decay, 
mainly  introduced  into  the  Society's  practice  in  the 
middle  of  last  century,  were  its  marriage  regulations. 
The  treatment  of  this  subject  by  George  Fox  and 
his  associates  was  worthy  of  their  reputation.     Not 
that  it  was  altogether  faultless ;  their  prohibition  of 
marriage  to  second  cousins  now  hardly  finds  a  de- 
fender; but,  taken  as  a  whole,  their  arrangements 
were  wise  and  liberal.     They  desu'cd  that  matrimo- 
nial connections  should  be  formed  between  persons 
of  similar  religious  views  and  practices,  and  their 
endeavours  were   attended   by  a  large   measure  of 
success.     As  the  Friends  declined  in  numbers,  and 
as  merely  nominal  members  were  retained  amongst 
them,  it  became  increasingly  difficult  to  confine  mar- 
riage within  their  own  limits.    The  existence  of  a  large 
body  of  persons  "  in  profession,"  but  not  "  in  mem- 
bership,"  still  further  complicated  the  matter.      In 
the  first  period  of  the  Society's  history,  all  attenders 
of  its  public  worship  were  at  liberty  to  be  married  in 
its  meeting-houses;  but  after  the  introduction  of  birth- 
right membership  in  1737,  this  privilege  was  confined 
to  '^  members;"  and  so  reckless  became  the  use  of  the 
penalty  of  disownment,  that  even  when  a  member 
married  one  of  like  rehgious  sentiments,  but  not  in 


CONCLUDING   CHAPTER. 


183 


membership,  he  was  expelled.  Having  devoted  an 
entire  chapter  to  the  consideration  of  this  subject,  it 
is  needless  here  to  dwell  further  upon  it.  The  main 
facts  of  tlie  case  are  clearly  established.  Within  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  present  century,  the 
Society  of  Friends  in  England  has  disowned  nearly 
one-third  of  all  its  members  who  have  married,  a 
total  of  not  less  than  four  thousand  persons  !  From 
this  and  other  causes  already  referred  to,  marriage 
has  become  increasingly  rare ;  and  not  merely  has 
the  Society  lost  its  four  thousand  adult  members, 
but  their  removal  has  occasioned  tlie  deaths  to  exceed 
the  births,  so  that  while  in  the  general  population  of 
England  there  have  been  since  1810  three  births  to 
every  two  deatlis,  in  the  Society  of  Friends  during 
the  same  period  the  deaths  have  exceeded  tbe  births 
by  two  thousand  four  hundred. 

It  is  a  marked  feature,  in  estimating  the  relative 
importance  of  the  different  causes  now  enumerated, 
that  comparatively  few  of  them  admit  of  having  a 
numerical  value  assigned  them.  It  is  impossible  to 
estimate  the  number  of  persons  who  might  have  been 
attracted  to  the  Society,  or  of  the  number  of  mem- 
bers who  might  have  been  retained  in  it,  if  its  terms 
of  fellowship  had  been  wider — if  its  religious  services 
had  been  more  varied  in  their  character — if  greater 


184         QUAKERISM  :    PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

endeavours   had   been  made   to  maintain  the  flame 
of  piety  bright  and  healthy,  by  the  more  decided  en- 
couragement of  the  gift  of  preaching,  by  the  unim- 
peded exercise  of  the  gift  of  religious  "  teaching,"  by 
the  more  assiduous  cultivation  of  the  habit  of  prayer, 
and,  in  short,  by  giving  a  less  passive  impress  to  all 
the  Society's  arrangements.     It  is  in  vain  to  specu- 
late as  to  the  number  of  persons  who  might  have 
embraced  Quakerism,  had  it  diligently  employed  all 
those    means    for    the    diffusion    of    its    principles 
which  are   placed  within  its  reach;    we  cannot  de- 
termine what  proportion  of  its  decline  is  due  to  the 
operation  of  the  birthright  membership  system,   or 
compute  w^hat  number  of  members  might  have  been 
retained  had  education  been  more  general  in  the  first 
period  of  the  Society's  history,  or  had  it  been  con- 
ducted on  sounder  principles  in  the  latter  one.      Nor 
can  we  assign  an  exact  numerical  value  to  the  minor 
causes  that  have  been  treated  of  in  the  preceding 
Essay,  and  which  it  is  needless  here  to  particularize. 
Finally,  it  is  impossible  to  say  which  of  these  causes 
might  never  have  existed,  had  the  early  Friends  and 
their  successors  recognized  the  great  importance  of  a 
well-proportioned  theology,  and  had  they  carefully 
guarded  against  the  danger  of  obscuring  or  under- 
valuing any  portions  of  Divine  truth — whether  re- 


CONCLUDING  CHAPTER. 


185 


vealed  in  the  inspired  volume,  or  in  thos3  "  facts 
of  nature  "  which  "  are  the  words  of  God  " — through 
excess  of  zeal  for  exalting  a  part,  rather  than  the 
whole,  of  Christian  truth. 

But  whilst  we  are  thus  unable  to  say  wdiat  propor- 
tion of  decline  is  due  to  this  cause,  and  wdia.t  to  tliaty 
the  sum  total  of  their  effects  can  be  accurately  de- 
termined. Not  merely  can  it  be  shown  that  there 
is  now  only  one  in  every  eleven  hundred  of  the 
population  of  the  United  Kingdom  professing  with 
tlie  Friends,  and  that  there  was  once  one  in  every 
one  hundred  and  thirty,  but  we  can  also  ascertain 
that  in  spite  of  the  aiuiually  increasing  pc»pulation, 
the  Friends  are  still  declining  at  the  rate  of  nearly 
one  hundred  per  annum,  and  that  the  number  of  mem- 
bers in  England,  which  in  1800  was  about  twenty 
thousand,  is  now  reduced  to  less  than  fifteen  thousand. 

In  the  contemplation  of  these  facts,  the  question 
necessarily  presents.  Has  Quakerism  a  future  ? — may 
it  yet  rise  phoenix-like  from  its  ashes,  learn  expe- 
rience from  the  errors  of  the  past,  and  enter  on  a 
brighter  and  a  happier  course ?  or  is  it  docmed  to  a 
continuance  of  its  present  decrepitude — to  a  progres- 
sive decay,  involving  its  untimely  end  at  no  very 
distant  period?  Historians  are  now  penning  the 
story  of  its  ^^  decline."     Shall  the  future  chronicler 


186         QUAKEEISM:  PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

record  its  "fall"?  or  shall  lie  tell  of  decay  averted; 
of  traditional  errors  discarded;  of  the  adoption  of 
a  wise,  because  a  Christian,  policy ;  and  of  the  suc- 
cess thereon  attendant?  Cogent  reasons  for  antici- 
pating either  of  these  events  might  be  adduced  ;  but, 
content  with  having,  to  the  best  of  our  abihty,  illus- 
trated the  causes  which  have  occasioned  the  decHne 
of  Quakerism,  we  will  not  weaken  the  picture  by 
indulging  in  needless  speculation. 

On  a  recent  occasion*  the  Society  of  Friends 
expressed  the  opmion  that  its  mission  was  far  from 
accomplished — that  there  is  a  great  work  still  before 
it  Reviewing  the  present  aspect  of  Christendom, 
thoughtful  members  of  many  sections  of  the  one  true 
Church,  anxious  for  the  advancement  of  our  common 
faith,  will  unite  in  this  opinion.  One  point  we  re- 
gard as  certain:  there  is  so  much  of  truth  in  its 
fundamental  principles,  when  rightly  understood, 
that  they  are  indestructible  ;  and  whether  tlie  ex- 
position of  fhese  ti'uths  remains  with  the  Society  of 
Friends,  or  passes  into  other  hands,  the  knowledge 
of  them  can  never  again  be  banished  from  the  earth. 
Let  the  present  leaders  of  the  Society,  and  let  every 
serious  and  reflective  Friend,  be  assured,  that  talking 
about  its  decline,  and  "paraphrasing  the  causes  of 

*  Beport  of  York  Quarterly  Meeting,  1854-55,  p.  13. 


CONCLUDING  CHAPTER. 


187 


it,"  under  sentences  which  do  but  mislead,  will 
avail  nothing.  The  consciousness  of  persoiial  inte- 
grity and  of  earnest,  self-denying  labour,  will  not 
atone  for  want  of  knowledge,  or  for  inadequate  or 
timorous  measures.  The  crisis  is  far  too  solemn 
in  its  character  to  permit  of  trifling.  No  mystery 
hanofs  over  the  causes  which  have  occasioned  the 
decay  of  the  body ;  many  of  those  causes  are  still 
in  operation,  and  if  unremoved,  can  issue  in  but  one 
Pesult — the  extinction  of  the  Church  which  permits 
their  continuance.  It  is  not  given  to  any  Chmxh 
to  infringe  with  impunity  on  the  rights  of  reli- 
gious liberty,  to  narrow  the  basis  on  which  it  stands, 
or  to  frame  the  arrangements  for  religious  (exercises 
as  if  intended  for  beings  differently  constituted  to 
man.  The  great  lesson  we  deduce  from  the  story  of 
Quakerism  closely  corresponds  with  that  djrawn  by 
the  eloquent  historian  of  the  Puritans,  from  a  review 
of  their  chequered  experience.  Describing  a  healthy 
Church,  he  writes: — ^'It  must  stand  upon  a  gene- 
rous basis  ;  ...  its  terms  of  communion  must 
be  few ;  it  must  hold  the  essentials  of  salvation  (with- 
out which  it  were  indeed  no  Church);  and  it  must 
endeavour  to  comprehend  those,  whatever  their  weak- 
nesses, who  subscribe  to  the  apostolic  canon  in  their 
lives,  and   give  sufficient  evidence  that  th<jy  *love 


188  QUAKERISM:   PAST  AND   PRESENT. 

the  Lord  Jesus  in  sincerity.'  Other  methods  have 
been  tried  in  vain.  We  know  the  price  at  which  a 
rigid  adlierence  to  rubrical  observances  must  be  pur- 
chased. We  have  seen  the  consequences  of  a  rigid 
uniformity,  and  we  have  seen  the  emptiness  of  a  "  tra- 
ditional "  zeal.  Shall  we  for  ever  tread  in  the  erring 
footsteps  of  our  forefathers  ?  " 

It  was  no  part  of  the  inquiry  which  this  essay 
professes  to  answer,  as   to   what    are  the  remedies 
for  the  present  condition  of  the  Society  of  Friends ; 
those   who   have  perused  the  preceding  pages  will 
easilv   discover  the  direction,   hi  which  the  author 
apprehends  these  remedies  may  be  found.    If  further 
suggestions   be   permitted,   he   would   say,  "  Cease 
to   do  evil ; "  stay  these   suicidal   disownments   for 
offences    which,   if   injudicious,   are  not   immoral; 
widen  the  grounds  of  Cluristian  fellowship  ;  maintain 
"  imity  in  essentials,  liberty  in  non-essentials ; "  and 
let  "charity  prevail  over  all."     Then,  "ceasing  to 
do  evil,"   the  Society  would   ''  learn  to  do  well ; " 
resuming   the   aggressive   spirit  of  olden  times,  it 
would  find  unnumbered  ways  for  its  exercise;   it 
would   discover   in   this   island   alone   a  population 
existing   without   the   pale   of  Christian   influences, 
more  numerous  than  that  which  inhabited  the  whole 
of  England  in  1650,  asking  to  be  won  for  Clirist; 


CONCLUDING  CHAPTER. 


189 


it  would  find  that,  when  rightly  understood,  there  is 
nothing  incompatible  between  a  belief  in  the  imme- 
diate guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  "freedom  of 
Gospel  ministry,"  and  the  prosecution  of  missions 
for  instructing   the   ignorant  and   evangelizing  the 
heathen.      In   pursuing    these   fields    of  service,  it 
would   find  no   mental   faculty  could   be  dispensed 
with — no    part  of  man's  nature  could  be  ignored; 
the  human  reason  must  occupy  the  sphere  appointed 
by  its  Great  Creator ;  human  instrumenta'ity  must 
be  prayed  for  and  encouraged — not,  indeed,  to  the 
disparagement  of  spiritual  agency, — far  otherwise: 
"  except  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they  labour  in  vain 
that  build  it;"  but  all  being  done  in  dependence  on 
the  Divine  blessing,  with  singleness  of  hexd  and  in 
the  manner  God  has  ordained,  His  Spirit  would  be 
richly  poured  out  in  accordance  with  ancient  pro- 
phecy, and  tliis  section  of  the  Church  would  expe- 
rience a  degree  of  prosperity  as  yet  unknown  to  it : 
so,  fulfilling  some   of  the   splendid   and   unaccom- 
plished expectations  of  its  founders,  it  might  be  the 
honoured  instrument  for  widely  extending  tlie  blessed 
kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 


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sents Shelley  to  us  as  ne  was  understood  by  those 
who  knew  him  best."— A^A^wcemot. 

"  Laiiy  Shelley  touches  with  a  reverent  and 
loving  hand,  the  incidents  of  the  poet's  career; 
and  the  gentlensss,  ardour,  and  trutlifulness  of 
his  nature  reappear  in  her  unpretending  pages. 

We  gladly  welcome  this  interesting 

volume."— Dai/j/  Nev3». 

"The  present  biography  presents  Shelley  to  us. 
as  he  was  understood  by  those  who  knew  him 
"btst."— Leader. 


"The  beauty  of  style 
this  work  abounds,  wil 
manj ."—Saturdah  Itevie 

"Lady  Shelhy's  work 
the  biographical  literatu 
rea  '  with  profound  iuter( 
truthful  delineation  of 
traits  in  one  of  the  moi 
ters  that  ever  lived."—. 
World. 

"We  heartily  recommt 
Critic. 


and  feeling,  with  which 
I  make  it  acceptable  to 

IT. 

is  a  real  acquisition  to 
re  of  the  d;iy ;  it  will  be 
st  for  its  perspicuous  and 
some  hitherto  neglected 
«t  extraordinary  ciiarac- 
Ulustrated  News  of  the 

nd  it  to  our  readers."— 


Camp 


aigning   Experiences    in   Hajp^ootana    and 

Central  India  during  the  Suppression  of  the  Mutiny  in 
1857-8.  By  Mrs.  Henry  DubeFxLY,  Author  of  a 
"  Journal  kept  during  the  Russian  War." 

Post  8 wo,  with  Map.     Price  \0s.  6d.  cloth. 


"Mrs.  Duberly  has  produced  a  very  readable 
and  even  amusing  volume.  Indeed,  ii  is  not  easy 
toiajf  it  aside  wheu  ouco  opened,  and  there  can 


be  little  floubt  that  it  ^vill  attain  a  consider^le 
circulation."— /*?rsa. 

"Mrs.   Duberly 's   'Ceropaigning   Exp'^riences' 
is  a  pleasant,  chatiy,  lit  Lie  voiun^e."— Crt/jc. 

3 


"WOEICS    I>TJBI.ISH:Er>    BY 


NEW  PUBLICATIONS— confinw^c?. 

Life  and  Liberty  in  America.     By  Dr.  C.  Mackay 

Second  Edition,  Two  Volumes,  Post  Svo,  with  Ten  Tinted  Illustratwns, 

price  One  Guinea. 


••  A  bright,  fresh,  and  hopeful  book  worthy  of 
the  author,  whose  songs  are  oftenest  heard  on 
the  Ulantlc.  Dr.  Mackny  writes  as  healthily  as 
he  sinKS ;  describing  *  Life '  as  be  8a\v-  it.  and 
•Literty'  as  he  studied  it,  in  the  I»orth  and  m 
the  ^o\ith.."—AthencBum 


"  "We  recommend  these  volumes  to  perusal,  as 
the  resTilt   of  careful  and  diligent  observation 
assisted  by  personal  association,  \ve|l  cjilculated 
to  facilitate  tlie  attainment  of  truth.  '-Leader. 

"  Dr.  Mackay's  volumes  are  eminently  readable 
and  amusing.'"'— Prcs«. 


The  Fool  of  Quality.  By  Henry  Brooke.  New  and 
Revised  Edition,  with  Biographical  Preface  by  the  Rev. 
C.  KiNGSLEY,  Rector  of  Eversley. 

Two  Volumes,  Post  Svo,  with  Portrait  of  the  Author,  price  One  Guinea. 


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be  (onsidered  as  the  earnest,  heartfelt  production 


of  an  accomplished  gentleman  and  a  sincere 
philanthropist.whose  life  was  devoted  to  efforts 
to  do  good,  its  excellences,  which  are  mtuiy,  wi-l 
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"  By  diligently  comparing  the  letters  of  .Junius 
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•  The  purpose  with  which  Miss  Martineau  has 
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piactical,  and  equally  so  is  the  manner  in  which 
si  e  has  treated  the  subject.  There  is  not  in  her 
•whole  volume  one  line  of  invective  against  indivi- 
duals or  classes.  No  candid  reader  can  deny  that 
tlis  etrort  has  been  made  opportunely,  ably,  and 
di  screetly."—Spfc^af  or. 

"  The  book  is  remarkable  for  the  clear,  compre- 
h  'nsive  way  in  which  the  subject  is  treated. 
Great  credit  is  due  to  Miss  Martineau  for  having 
so  compactly,  so  spiritedly,  with  so  much  truth  of 


detail,  and  at  the  same  time  so  much  force,  placed 
the  matter  before  the  public  in  this  interesting 
and  well-timed  volume.''— ,!iA/i)jM?J{7  and  Mercaw 

"  Mis's  Martineau  has  worked  out  her  subject 
with  couraee.  power,  and  conscientiousness. 
Faithful  in'fact  and  rich  in  suggestion,  she  has 
given  us  in  this  volume  a  ver>'  valuable  addition 
to  our  present  store  of  knowledge  as  the  conduct 
and  condition  of  the  Crimean  troo^a.'—Ltterary 
Gazette. 


His  book  is  impartial,  pleasantly  written,  and 
excellently  arranged."— Safwrda J/ /?«:jfjc. 

*'  It  has  the  merit  of  going  deep  into  the  subject 
loatter  at  one  of  its  most  vital  points  ;  and  it  is 
this  merit  that  constitutes  the  special  value  of 
Jlr.  Sargaut's  book.  His  views  are  sensible  and 
sound,  they  are  brought  forward  clearly  and  dis 


tration."— iVea«.  .       _,      .         4.4, „„ 

"  Mr.  Sargant  has  done  good  service  in  putting 
upon  record  some  of  the  vagaries  of  the  pseuao- 
economists  of  the  last  twenty  years.  His  views 
are  sound  and  moderate  on  this  important  ques- 
tion."— Guar  diaji. 


.Life  in  Tuscany.     By  Mabel  Sharman  Crawford. 

With  Two  Views,  Post  Svo, price  \0s.  Bd.  cloth 


"  There  are  many  traces  of  quiet,  genial  bum9ur, 

brilliant    and   harmless   as    summer   lightning, 

which  agreeablv  relieve  the  more  serious  portions 

or  the  work.    Miss  Crawford's  reflections  are  as 

sound  and  practical  its  her  perceptions  are  lively 


Social  Innovators  and  their  Schemes.  By 
William  Lucas  Sargant,  Author  of  "  The  Science  of 
Social  Opulence,"  &c. 

Post  8  vo,  price  10s.  6d.  cloth. 

Mr  Sargant  has  written  a  very  useful  sketch,    passionately,  with  quiet  vigour  and  telling  iUus 
.^  •  1.  ;*   <.v,^o-tioi     T^it^Qanntiv  written,  and    tration."— iVea«.  ^ 


and  acute,  and  she  has  succeeded  in  contributing 
a  really  valuable  addition  to  that  otherwise  re- 
dundant department  of  literature."— Pre»*. 

•*  The  peasant  life  in  Tuscany  has.  perhaps,  no* 
been  so  well  photographed  before."— .<liAe«<BM««. 


SldHTH,     EILJDEK    .A^N^ID     CO. 


NEW    PUBLICATIONS- continued. 

Sermons.       By  the  late  Rev.  Fred.  W.  Robertson,  A.M., 
Incumbent  of  Trinity  Chapel,  Brighton. 

FIRST  SERIES— iSix^A  Edition,  Post  Hvo,  price  9s.  cloth. 

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"There  are  many  persons,  and  their  number 
increases  every  year,  to  whom  llobertson's  writ- 
ings are  the  most  stable,  exhaustless,  and  satis- 
factory form  of  religious  teaching  which  the 
nineteenth  century  has  given— the  most  wise, 
suggestive,  and  practical."— Safwrrfaw  Review. 

"  There  must  be  a  great  and  true  heart,  where 
there  is  a  great  and  true  preacher.  And  in  that, 
beyond  everything  else,  lay  the  secret  of  Mr. 
Bobertson's  influence.  We  feel  that  a  brother 
man  is  speaking  to  us  as  brother  men ;  that  we  are 
listening,  not  to  the  measured  words  of  a  calm, 
eool  thinker,  but  to  the  passionate  deep-toned 
voice  of  an  earnest  human  fiOM\."—Edi7ibui'gh 
Christian  Magazine. 


"These  sermons  are  fill  of  thought  and  beauty. 
There  is  not  a  sermon  ir  the  series  that  does  not 
furnish  evidence  of  originality  without  extrava> 
gance,  of  discrimination  without  tediousness,  and 
of  piety  without  cant  or  conventionalism." — 
British  Quarterly. 

"  We  recommend  the  v 'hole  of  the  volumes  to  the 
perusal  of  our  readers.  They  will  find  in  them 
thought  of  a  rare  and  beautiful  description,  an 
earnestness  of  mind  steadfast  in  the  search  of 
truth,  and  a  charity  pure  and  all-embracing."— 
Economist. 

"They  are  very  remarkable  compositions.  The 
thoughts  are  often  very  striking,  and  entirely  out 
of  the  track  of  ordinary  ssrmonismg."— GMaramTi. 


Lectures  and  Addresses  on  Literary  and  Social 
Topics.     By  the  late  Rev.  Fred.  W.  Robertson. 


Post  8vo,  price  7s.  6d.  cloth. 


**  These  lectures  and  addresses  are  marked  by 
the  same  qualities  that  made  the  author's  ser- 
mons so  justly  and  so  widely  popular.  They 
manifest  the  same  earnest,  liberal  spirit,  the 
ardent  love  of  truth,  the  lucid  eloquence,  the  wide 
sympathy,  and  singleness  of  purpose."— Zifrrar^^ 
Gazette. 

"  We  value  this  volume  for  its  frankness  and 
earnestness."— Critic. 


"  They  throw  some  nt 
tion  of  llobertson's  mir 
which  it  was  unfolding  i 

"  It  is  in  papers  suet 
Robertson  makes  the  w 
tutional  Press. 

"  In  these  addresses 
liberality  of  view  and  r 
expressed."— 2>ai7y  Telt 


!w  light  on  the  constitu- 
d,  and  on  the  direction  in 
tselV—Saturdaj/  Review. 
.  as  these  that  Frederick 
)rld  his  debtor." — Consti' 

.ve  are  gladdened  by  rare 
ange  or  sympathy  boldly 
graph. 


The  Life  of  Charlotte  Bronte.     (Cujirer  Bell.) 

Author  of   "Jane  Eyre,"  "Shirley,"  "Villette,"  &c. 
By  Mrs.  Gaskell,  Author  of  "  North  and.  South,"  &c. 

Fourth    Edition,  Revised,  One    Volume,  with  a  Portrait  cf  Miss  Bronte  and 
a   View  of  Haworth  Parsonage.     Price  7s.  6d, ;  morocco  elegant,  14*. 

*'  AH  the  secrets  of  the  literary  workmanship  of 
the  authores.s  of  '  Jane  Eyre '  are  unfolded  in  the 
course  of  this  extraordinary  narrative."— Time*. 

"  Mrs.  Gaskell's  account  of  Charlotte  Brontfi 
and  her  family  is  one  of  the  profoundest  tragedies 
of  modern  \\t^."— Spectator. 

"  Mrs.  Gaskell  has  produced  one  of  the  best 
biographies  of  a  woman  by  u  woman  which  we 
can  recall  to  Ta.\ndi."—Atfienaium. 

"If  any  one  wishes  to  see  how  a  woman 
possessed  of  the  highest  intellectual  power  can 

The    Life   of   J.    Deacon     Hume^    Esq.,    late 

Secretary  to  the  Board  of  Trade.      By  the  Rev.  Charles 

Post  8vo,  price  9s.,  cloth. 


disregard  every  temptat  on  which  intellect  throws 
iu  tlie  way  of  women— how  generously  and  nobly 
a  human  bein§  can  live  under  the  pressure  of 
accumulated  misfortune— the  record  is  at  hand  in 
'The  Life  of  Charlotte  Bronti.'"— Saturdaif 
Review. 

"Mrs.  Gaskell  has  done  her  work  well.  Her 
narrative  is  simple,  direit,  intelligihle.unaft'ected.. 
No  one  else  could  havepwd  so  tehderand  discern- 
ing a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Charlotte  Bronte." 
—Fraser's  Magazine. 


Badham. 


'A  masterly  piece  of  biographical  narrative. 
To  minute  and  conscientious  industry  in  search- 
ing out  facts,  Mr.  Badham  conjoins  the  attrac- 
tious  of  a  graceful  style  and  a  sincere  liking  for 
the  task  he  has  in  hand.  He  has  produced  one  of 
the  most  useful  and  judicious  biographies  extant 


in  our  literature,  peculi  irly  full  of  beauties,  and 
peculiarly  free  Irom  faults."— .ilWcw. 

"  It  is  well  that  the  wcrld's  attention  should  be 
called  to  such  a  man,  and  that  the  particulars  of 
his  character  and  career  should  be  preserved  in  a 
biography."— /Spectator. 


New  Zealand  and  its   Colonization.     By  William 

SwAINSON,  Esq.     Demy  8vo,  price  \As.,  cloth. 


"  This  is  the  most  complete  and  comprehensive 
account  of  the  colonization  of  New  Zealand  which 
has  yet  been  laid  before  the  public."- G/o6«. 

We  recommend  the  volume  aa  well  deserving 
perusal  by  everyone  who  feels  an  interest  in  the 


question  of  colonial  adtiinistration."— Jfornmry 
Chronicle . 

"  Mr.  Swainson's  volume  abounds  with  infor- 
mation upon  the  resources  of  the  colony  its 
advantage  for  emigrants,  and  its  future  pro- 
spects."—liadwa'  Newtpiiper, 


^-OHKIS     PUBLISHED     15  Y 


l^EW  PUBLICATIONS— co7i^mw6'c?. 

Hong  Kong  to  Manilla.     By  Henkt  T.  Ellis,  R.N. 

Po-sf  Suo,  wi>/*  Fourteen  Hlustrations,  price  Us.  cloth. 

'  -  tt   -vr^     Tallin    l«Aa    fwi«7Airk    ^J^  ^.llA  mi 


"  Tlie  narrative  fulfils  the  object  of  the  author, 
which  is  to  present  a  lively  '"^S^?  r^  fo  a 
saw.  heard,  and  did  dnrina:  a  holiday  run  lo  a 
rarel:'  visited  place." -Sped a  tor. 


I  ii 


Mr  Ellis  has  given  to  the  public  a  most  vixlu- 
ii.hl«»and  interestint?  work  upon  a  race  and  country 
mtle  k«  "wnto  Engli^  ^e»derti."-Illu»trated 
News  of  the  World. 


Gunnery  in  1858:  a  Treatise  on  Rifles,  Cannon 

and  Sporting  Arms.     By  WiLLiAM  Greener,  Author  of 
« The  Gun."  ^^^        .         .,,1,1, 

Demv  8ro,  with  Illustrations,  price  1 4s.,  cloth. 

^  ..  ^tr   Greener's  treatise  is  suggestive,  ample, 

and' elaborate,  and  deals  with  the  entire  subject 


"A  VCTV  comprehensive  work.  Those  who 
T)eru  je  U  will  k^w  almost  aU,  if  not  all.  that 
Kl%an  teach  them  of  ^uns  and  gunnery.  - 
Jiavnl  and  Military  Gazeit*'.  ...  ^^^ 

"^"The  most  interesting  Z'^^'^^^l^^^yRniew 
has  («me  under  our  notice."- .*Ja«ttrdai/«^ww. 
"  vrA  can  confidently  recommend  tliis  Wjok  oi 

Herald. 


systematically."— ^^Ae7»<ru7n.  „.i.;„i,  i,;^» 

"A  work  of  great  practical  value,  which  bids 

fair  to  stand,  f6r  many  .vears  to  come,  the  chief 

practical  authority  ou  the  subject."-  M%litarv 

^^f^^^,^^°cceptable  contribution  to  professional 
literature,  written  in  a  popular  style.  —Umtea 
Service  Magazine. 


Phantastes:    a  Faerie  Romance  for  Men  and 

Women.     By  George  MacDonald,  Author  of     Within 

and    Without,"  Post  Svo,  price  10«.  6rf.  cloth. 


ia  mi  iiiripscribable,  naineiess  f<r«.uc  iii  i.ii<.  ^.-..^■..." 
of  deep  tho  a"ht  und  bright  coloured  fancy  which 

^^'  Sa\ust"es? w\;rbe'rt^  for  its  story-for  11^ 
hidden  meaning  and  solemn  teaching." -Jf«P 

"^^^r^  is  one^which  will^form^^a^source  of 


*' The  whole  book  is  instinct  with  poetry,  with 
delicate  perception  of  the  lijdden  emotions  of  the 
soiU,  with  thought,  and  with  \deal  tr  th  llie 
story  is  in  fact  a  parable -aii  allej^ory  of  human 
life,  its  temptations  and  its  8orrowss."-X.»^erary 
Gazette. 


of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  fo' .^j.^  ^«™\11®J 
one  of  tho  sweetest  women  that  ever  breatnea 
from  canvas  or  from  book  since  RafTivelle  painted 
and  Shakespeare  wrote."— Sp^cf  of  or,  ,_„„„„ 
"Once  ml^e  we  feel  that  we  have  before  us  a 
masculine  and  thoroughly  Entrlish  ^fiter,  uniting 
the  power  of  subtle  analysis,  with  a  strong 
volition  and  a  moving  cloquence-an  eloquence 
which  has  gained  in  richness  and  harmony. 
^Esmond'  must  be  read,  not  for  its  characters, 
but  fo?  its  romantic  plot,  its  spinted  ,i?roup.ng 
and  its  many  thrilling  utterances  of  the  anguish 
of  the  human  )xtax\,:'—Athen(ewn. 


agTjeable  reading  to  many. 

Esmond.       By  W.  M.  Thackeray,  Esq. 

4  New  EdUim,  being  the  Third,  in  One  Volu«ie,  Crown  Boo,  pr,ce  6s  cloth. 

"  \part  from  its  special  merits  Esmond  must 
be  read  just  now  as  an  intrwluct  ion  to  The  V  ir- 
ginia^s  '  It  is  quite  impossible  fully  to  understand 
^ienjov  the  latter  story  without  a  knowledge 
^•Esmond.'  The  new  t^ile  is  in  the  strictest 
eer^the  sequel  of  the  old,  not  only  introdncing 
the  same  chanvcters,  but  continuing  their  history 
at  II  later  period."— Lmder.    ,     ,      _      -  .„«ntw 

•'  The  book  has  the  great  charm  of  jewity- 
Queen  Anne's  colonel  writes  his  li^e-and  a  very 
iiteresting  life  it  is-just  as  a  Q«een  ,Ai»"e  s 
Lionel  might  be  sunooeed  to  have  written  it. 
Mt  Thackeray  has  selected  for  his.  hero  a  very 
no  Jle  type  of  the  cavalier  softening  into  the  man 

2'he    Education    of    the    Human    Race.       Now 

first  Translated  from  the  German  of  Lessing. 

Fcap.  8^0,  antique  cloth^  price  4s. 
*  *  This  remarkable  work  is  now  first  published  in  English. 

"An  ain-eeJble  and  flowing  translationof  one  1      ll^lvisinv^uabletij^/'-Cy^^^^^ 

^'..WB"f;'ay"rL^s-^^?e"l»ritlTCish     }r££^r^£^^^^^^r.l.^- 
to -m.^-Wettmimter  Review.  |  peantnougui.      in<iu  r 

Homely     Ballads    for     the     Working    Mans 

Fireside.     By  Mary  Sewell. 

Eiahtli  Thousand.    Post  Svo,  cloth,  One  Shilling. 


"  Very  good  verses  conveying  very  useful  les 
mrrts  •' — Literary  Gazette.  ^      .  ,, 

'•  Simple  poems,  well  suited  to  the  t^ste  of  the 
duses  for  whom  they  are  written."— e<o6«. 

6 


There  U  areal  homely  flavour  about  them,  and 
they  contain  sound  and  wholesome  lesaons.  — 
Critic. 


SMITH,    ELDER    ^ISTD    CO. 


ME.  RUSKIN'S  WORKS  ON  .A.RT. 
The  Two  Paths:    being  Lectures  on  Art,  and 

its  relation  to  Manufactures  and  Decoration. 

One  Volume,  Crown  8vo,  with  Two  Steel  Engravings,  price  7s.  Gd.  cloth. 

fervid  eloquence  which  has  so  materially  contri- 
buted to  the  author's  reputation."— Pre««. 

"  The  *  Two  Paths '  contains  much  eloquent  de- 
scription, places  in  a  clefirliartit  some  forgotten  or 
uegleoteJ  truths,  and.liKe  all  Mr.  Ruskin's  books, 
is  eminently  suggestive."— Iriierary  Gazette. 

"  This  book  is  well  calculated  to  encourage  the 
humblest  worker,  and  stimulate  him  to  artistic 
effort."— 2/cadw. 


"  The  meaning  of  the  title  of  this  book  is,  that 
there  are  two  courses  open  to  the  artist,  one  of 
whicti  will  lead  him  to  all  that  is  noble  in  art,  and 
will  incidentally  exalt  his  Tioral  nature;  while 
the  other  will  deteriorate  his  work  and  help  to 
throw  obstacles  in  the  way  of  his  Individual 
morality.  .  .  .  They  all  contain  many  useful 
distinctions,  acute  remarks,  and  valuable  sugges- 
tions, and  are  everywhere  lit  up  with  that  glow  of 

The  Elements  of  Drawing. 


Sixth  Thousand. 


Crown  Svo.     With  Illustrations  draw.%  by  the  Author. 
Price  7s.  6d.  cloth. 


"  The  rules  are  clearly  and  fully  laid  down;  and 
the  earlior  exercises  alw.ays  conducive  to  the  end 
by  simple  and  unembarriiMsing  means.  The  whole 
volume  is  full  of  liveliness."— .Vpgctofor. 

"  We  close  this  book  with  a  feeling  that,  though 
nothing  supersedes  a  master,  yet  that  no  student 
of  art  should  launch  forth  without  this  work  as  a 
compass."— At  Uen  CPU  in. 

*'  It  will  be  found  not  only  an  invaluable  acqui- 
sition to  the  student,  but  agreeable  andlnstruotive 


reading  for  any  one  whc 
ceptious  of  natural  seer 
artistic  representations 

"  Origiaal  as  this  treat 
at  once  instructive  an 
Gazette. 

"The  most  useful  ar 
subject  which  has  ever  < 
Pregs. 


'  wishes  to  refine  his  per- 

ery,  and  of  its  worthless 

"—Eco7tomigt. 

ise  is,  it  cannot  fail  to  be 

1  suggestive."— LiterariA 

d  practical  book  on  the 
ome  under  our  notice." — 


Modern    Painters^    Vol.    IV.       On    Mountain 

ISeauty, 

Imperial  Svo,  with  Thirty-Jive  Illustrations  engraved  on  Steel,  and 
116  Woodcuts,  drawn  by  the  Author.      Price  2/.  10*.  cloth. 


"The  present  volume  of  Mr.  Euskin's  elaborate 
work  treats  chiefly  of  mountain  scenery^  and 
discusses  at,  length  the  principles  involved  in  the 
pleasure  we  derive  from  mountains  and  their 
pictorial  representation.  The  singular  beauty  of 
his  style,  the  hearty  sympathy  with  all  forms  of 
natural  loveliness,  the  profusion  of  his  illustra- 
tions form  irresistible  attractions."— i)at/^i/A'etc». 

"Considered  as  an  illustrated  volume,  this  is  the 
most  remarkable  which  5Ir.  linskin  has  yet  issued. 
The  plates  and  woodcuts  are  profuse,  and  include 
numerous  drawina;8  of  mountain  form  by  the 
author,  which  prove  Mr.  £asklu  to  be  essentially 


an  artist.  He  is  an  unique  man,  both  among 
artists  and  'writer^."— Spectator. 

"  The  fourth  volume  brings  fresh  stores  of 
wondrous  eloquence,  cl3se  and  patient  observa- 
tions, and  subtle  disciuisition.  .  .  .  Such  a 
writer  is  a  national  poisession.  He  adds  to  our 
store  of  knowledge  and  enjoyment." — Leader. 

"  Mr.  Ruskin  is  the  most  eloquent  and  thought- 
awakening  writer  ou  nature  in  its  relation  with 
art,  and  the  most  potent  influence  by  the  pen,  of 
young  artists,  whom  tliia  country  can  boast."— 
National  Renew. 


Modern  Painters,  Vol.  III.     Of  Many  Things. 

With  Eighteen  Illustrations  drawn  by  the  Author,  and  ei graved  on  Steel. 

Price  38s.  cloth. 


"  Every  one  who  cares  about  nature,  or  poetry, 
or  the  story  of  human  development — every  one 
who  has  a  tinge  of  literature  or  philosophy,  will 
find  something  that  is  for  him  in  this  volume."— 
Wetitminstrr  Ueviev. 

"  Mr.  Ruskin  is  in  possession  of  a  clear  and 

eenetrating  mind ;  he  is  undeniably  practical  in 
is  fundamental  ideas;  full  of  the  deepest 
reverence  for  all  that  appears  to  him  beautiful 
and  holy.  His  style  is,  as  usual,  clear,  bold,  racy, 
llr.  Ruskin  is  one  of  the  tlrst  writers  of  the 
day .  *  '—Econoth  ist. 
"The   pi-esent  volume,  viewed  as  a  literary 


achievement,  is  the  hi?hest  and  most  striking 
evidence  of  the  author's  abilities  tiiat  has  yet 
been  published."— Lead  ?r. 

"All,  it  is  to  be  hopei,  will  read  the  book  for 
themselves.  They  will  find  It  well  worthacareful 
perusal."— jSa^twt/ (7  .V  Review. 

"This  work  is  eminen  -ly  suggestive,  full  of  new 
thoughts,  of  brilliant  descriptions  of  scenery, 
and  eloquent  moral  apjlication  of  Xh.em."—New 
(Quarterly  Review. 

"Mr.  Ruskin  has  deservedly  won  for  himself  a 
place  in  the  tlrst  rauk  of  modern  writers  upon 
the  theory  of  the  fine  ttxis."— Eclectic  Review. 


Modern  Painters.     Vols.  I.  and  II. 


Imperial  Svo.     Vol.  /.,  Gth  Edition, 

Price  10s. 

"A  generous  and  impassioned  review  of  the 
works  of  living  painters.  A  hearty  and  earnest 
work,  full  of  deep  thought,  and  developing  great 
and  striking  truths  in  »Tt."— British  Quarterly 
Review. 

"  A  very  extraordinary  and  delightful  book,  full 
of  truth  and  goodness,  of  power  aud  beauty."— 
north  British  Review.  "' 


18s.  cloth. 

6d.  cloth. 

"Mr.  Ruskin 's  work  i 
than  ever  to  the  study  ( 
who  have  alwa.vs  beei 
nature,  to  be  also  atteni 
will  learn  to  admire,  ani 
how  to  criticise  :  thus  a 
Blackwood' g  Magazine, 


Vol.  II.,  4th  Edition. 


vill  send  the  painter  more 
if  nature;  will  train  men 
delighted  spectators  of 
ive  observers.  Our  critics 
1  mere  admirers  will  learn 
public  will  be  educated."— 


i 


WORKS  OF  MR.  RU SKl^— continued. 


The  Stones  of  Venice. 


Complete    in     Three    Volumes,    Imperial    9>vo,   ^^^^  .^i^yf/''/^''j'f.    «"^ 
numerous  Woodcuts,  drawn  bij  the  Author,     Price  5/.  15s.  6t/..  cloth, 

BACH  VOLUME  MAY  BE  HAD  SEPARATELY. 

Vol.  I.  THE  FOUNDATIONS,  with  21  Plates,  price  2/.  25.  2ad  Edition. 
Tol.  II.  THE  SEA  STORIES,  with  20  Plates,  price  2/.  2s. 
Yol.  III.  THE  FALL,  with  12  Plates,  price  1/.  lis.  6(/. 


"  T  \e  '  Stones  of  Venice '  is  the  production  of  an  j 
earnest,  religious.  prot?res8ive,  and  informed  mind. 
The  (lUthor  of  tliis  essay  on  architecture  hjs  con-  , 
(lensiditinto  a  poetic  apprehension,  the  fruit  of 
awe  .>f  God.  and  delij?ht  in  nature ;  a  knowledge, 
love,  and  just  estimate  of  art;  a  holding  fast  to 
fact  and  repudiation  of  hearsay ;  an  historic 
brea<lth.  and  a  fearless  challenge  of  cxistinij  social 
problems,  whose  union  we  know  not  where  to  nnd 
paral  lelod. '  '—Spectator. 


"  This  book  is  one  which,  perhaps, no  other  man 
could  have  written,  and  one  for  which  the  world 
ouirht  to  be  and  will  be  thankful.  It  is  in  the 
highest  degree  eloquent,  acute,  stimulating  to 
thought,  and  fertile  in  suggestion.  It  wiU,  we 
are  convinced,  elevate  taste  and  intellect,  raise 
the  tone  of  moral  feeling,  kindle  benevolence 
towards  men,  and  increase  the  love  aud  rear  ol 
God."— r»»»e». 


The  Seven  Lamps  of  Architecture. 


Second  Edition,  with  Fourteen  Plates  drawn  by  the  Author.    Imperial  Svo, 

Price  \l.  Is.  cloth. 


"ty  'Tlie  Seven  Lamps  of  Architecture,  we 
und(  rstand  Mr.  Ruskin  to  mean  the  Seven  Imida- 
nien  al  and  cardinal  laws,  the  observance  of  and 
obedience  to  which  are  indispensable  to  the  archi- 
tect, who  would  deserve  the  name.  The  politician, 
the  moralist,  the  divine,  will  And  in  it  ample  store 
of  irstructive  matter,  as  well  as  the  ftrlist.  The 
author  of  this  work  belongs  to  a  class  of  thinkers 
of  vhom  we  have  too  few  amongst  us.  — 
Examiner. 


"  Mr.  Ruskin's  book  bears  so  unmistakcably  the 
marks  of  keen  and  accurate  observation,  of  a  true 
and  subtle  judgment  and  refined  sense  of  beauty, 
joined  with  so  much  e^irnestness,  so  noble  a  sense 
of  the  purposes  and  business  of  art,  and  such  a 
command  of  rich  and  glowing  language,  that  it 
cannot  but  tell  powerfully  in  producing  a  more 
religious  view  of  the  uses  of  architecture,  and  a 
deeper  insight  into  its  artistic  principles.  '— 
Guardian. 


Notes  on  the  Picture  Exhibitions  of  1859. 

Fifth  Thousand.     Price  One  Shilling. 

Lectures  on  Architecture  and  Painting. 

With  Fourteen  Cuts,  drawn  by  the  Author.     Second  Edition.     Crown  Svo. 

Price  8s.  6d.  cloth. 


"  Mr.  Ruskin's  lectures— eloquent,  graphic,  and 
Imcassioned— exposing  and  ridiculiivg  some  of  the 
vic(  s  or  our  present  system  of  building,  and 
exc  ting  his  hearers  by  strong  motives  of  duty  and 
ple{.sure  to  attend  to  architectui-e— are  very 
BUG  sessf ul."— JS:co«o»»«^ 


"  We  conceive  it  to  be  impossible  that  any  intel- 
ligent persons  could  listen  to  the  lectures,  hovv- 
ever  they  might  differ  from  the  judgments  asserted, 
and  from  the  general  propositions  laid  down, 
without  an  elevating  influence  aud  an  arouaeu 
enthVLaiiXsm."— Spectator. 


The  Political  Economy  of  Art.     Price  2s.  6^.  cloth. 


"  A  most  able,  eloquent,  and  well-timed  work. 
We  hail  it  with  satisfaction,  think  ing  it  calculated 
to  do  much  practical  good,  and  we  cordially  recom- 
mend it  to  our  readers."— FTi^ne**. 

"Mr.  Ruskin's  chief  purpose  is  to  treat  the 
artist's  power,  and  the  art  itself,  as  items  of  the 
wo -Id's  wealth,  and  to  show  how  these  maybe 
beat  evolved,  produced,  accumulated,  aud  ^i^- 
tril'Uted."— .4f«ew«M»». 


"  We  never  quit  Mr,  Ruskin  without  being  the 
better  for  what  he  has  told  us.  and  therefore  we 
recommend  this  little  volume,  like  all  his  other 
works,  to  the  perusal  of  our  readers."— Zco?ioi/n»f. 

"This  book,  daring,  as  it  is,  glances  keenly  at 
principles,  of  which  some  are  ninoni?  the  articles 
of  ancient  codes,  while  others  are  evolving  slowly 
to  the  light."— Leader. 


A  Portrait  of  John   Rushing  Esq.,    Engraved  hj 
F.  HoLL,  from  a  Drawing  by  George  Richmond. 

Prints,  One  Guinea ;  India  Proofs,  Two  Guineas, 
8 


SMITH,    EI.33ER     ^iq^D    CO. 


NEW  WORKS   ON   INDIA  AND   THE   EAST. 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  INDIA.  By  John 
William  Kate.  Svo,  price  16s. 
cloth. 

"  Mr.  Kaye  has  written  a  history  of  the  develop- 
Wicnt  of  Christianity  in  India  by  all  its  agencies 
and  all  its  manifestations.  .  .  .  His  whole 
narrative  is  eloquent  and  informing,  and  he  has 
again  made  a  valuable  use  of  his  great  oppor- 
tunities and  indisputable  talents,  so  that  his  book 
will  probably  become  a  standard  authority."— 
Times. 

"  The  author  traces  the  history  of  Christian 
Missions  in  India  from  their  earliest  commence- 
ment down  to  the  present  time,  with  a  light 
and  graceful  pen^  and  is  not  wearisomely  minute, 
but  judiciously  discriminative."— jiWe/JceMW. 

"  Mr.  Kaye's  is,  in  many  respects  an  able  book, 
and  it  is  likely  to  prove  a  very  useful  one.  3lr. 
Kaye  is  not  only  most  instructive  from  his  fami- 
liarity with  all  points  of  detail,  but  he  sees  and 
Judges  everything  as  it  was  seen  and  judged  by 
the  ^?reat  sratesiuen  whose  wisflom  lias  made 
British  government  possible  in  iudiA."— Saturday 
Review. 

"  Seldom  have  we  had  the  good  fortune  to  read 
BO  simple,  thorousch,  and  excellent  a  history:  it 
Will  remain  a  standard  Y)ook."—Alominff  Chronicle. 

"  Mr.  Kaye  has  done  good  service  to  the  cause 
of  Christian  missions  by  the  publication  of  his 
volume."— Illustrated  News  of  the  World. 

"  A  clear  and  careful  retrospect  of  the  rise  and 
progress  of  Christianity  in  the  l^ust."— Black- 
wood's  Magazine. 

LIFE  AND  CORRESPONDENCE  OF 
LORD  METCALFE.  By  J.  W. 
Kaye.  New  and  Cheap  Edition, 
in  2  vols.,  small  post  Svo,  with 
Portrait,  price  12s.  cloth. 

"  Some  additions  which  have  been  made  to  the 
present  volumes,  place  in  a  strong  light  the  saga- 
city and  good  sense  of  Lord  Metcalfe.  .  .  .  The 
present  demand  for  a  new  edition  is  a  suflicient 
commendation  of  a  work  which  has  already  occu- 
pied the  highest  rank  among  biographies  of  the 
great  men  of  modern  times."— Obgercer. 

"  A  new  and  revised  edition  of  the  life  of  one 
of  the  greatest  and  purest  men  that  ever  aided 
In  governing  India.  The  new  edition  not  only 
places  a  very  instructive  book  within  the  reach  of 
a  greater  number  of  persons,  but  contains  new 
matter  of  the  utmost  value  and  interest."— Crifjc. 

"  One  of  the  most  valuable  biographies  of  the 

firesent  day.  This  revised  edition  has  several 
resli  passages  of  high  interest,  now  first  inserted 
fi-om  among  Lord  Metcalfe's  papers,  in  which  his 
clear  prescience  of  the  dangers  that  threatened 
our  Indian  empire  is  remarkably  shown.  Both  in 
size  and  price  the  new  edition  is  a  great  improve- 
ment on  the  original  work."~Economi8t. 

"This  edition  is  revised  with  care  and  judgment. 
Mr.  Kayehas  judiciously  condensed  that  portion 
of  his  original  work  which  relates  to  the  earlier 
career  of  the  great  Indian  statesman.  Another 
improvement  in  the  work  will  be  found  in  the 
augmentation  of  that  part  setting  forth  Lord 
Metcalfe's  views  of  the  insecurity  of  our  Indian 
empire."— G^o6e. 

"  A  much  improved  edition  of  one  of  the  most 
interestiue  political  biographies  in  EngliaU 
literature."— ATaftowof  Review, 

PAPERS  OF  THE  LATE  LORD 
METCALFE.      By   J.  W.  Kate. 

Demy  Svo,  price  16s.  cloth. 

"We  commend  this  volume  to  all  persons  who 
like  to  study  State  papers,  in  which  the  practical 
sense  of  a  man  of  the  world  is  joined  to  the 
specuL^itive  sagacity  ofaphilosophi.-al  statesman. 
Ao  Indian  library  should  be  without  it."— Jt>r est 


LIFE  AND  CORRESPONDENCE  OF 
SIR  JOHN  MiVLCOLM,  G.C.B. 
By  J.  W.  Kate,  2  vols.,  Svo,  with 
Portrait.    Price  36s,  cloth. 

,  "  The  biography  is  replete  with  interest  and 
information,  deserving  to  be  perused  by  the  stu- 
dent of  Indian  history,  ;ind  sure  to  recommend 
itself  to  the  general  reaAiir."—Athen(JBum. 

"One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  recent 
biographies  of  our  grei.t  Indian  statesmen."— 
National  Review. 

"  This  book  deserves  tc  participate  in  the  popu- 
larity which  it  was  the  nood  fortune  of  Sir  John 
Malcolm  to  enjoy."— Edinburgh  Review. 

"A  very  valuabla  contribution  to  our  Indian 
literature.  We  recommend  it  strongly  to  all  who 
desire  to  learn  something  of  the  history  of 
British  India."— A^etc  Quirterly  Review. 

"Mr.  Kaye's  biography  is  at  once  a  contribution 
to  the  history  of  our  policy  and  dominion  in  the 
East,  and  a  worthy  memorial  of  one  of  those  wise 
and  large  hearted  men  whose  energy  and  prin- 
ciple have  made  England  sreaX."— British  Quar- 
terly Review. 

BRITISH  RULE  IN  INDIA.  Sixth 
Thousand.  B>  Harriet  Marti- 
neau.    Price  2i.  6d.  cloth. 

•«•  A  reliable  class-book  for  examination  in  the 
history  ot  British  India, 

"A  go<Dd  compendium  of  a  great  subject."— 
National  Review. 

"A  succinct  and  comprehensive  volume."— 
Leader. 

SUGGESTIONS  TOWARDS  THE 
FUTURE  GOVERNMENT  OF 
INDIA.  By  Harriet  Martineau. 
Second  Edition.  Demy  Svo.  Price 
5s.  cloth. 


'  aI 


"  As  the  work  of  an  b 
Suggestions  are  well  wor 
doubt  they  will  generally 
Observer. 

Genuine  honest  utte 


onest  able  writer,  these 

thy  of  attention,  and  no 

be  duly  appreciated."— 


ranees  of  a  clear,  sound 
understanding,  neither  obscured  nor  enfeebled  by 

al  selfishness.  We  cor- 
ho  are  in  search  of  the 
peruse  these  pages,"— 


party  prejudice  or  persori 
dially  recommend  all  wl 
truth  to  peruse  and  r<i 
Daily  News. 


EIGHT  MONTHS'  CAMPAIGN 
AGAINST  THE  BENGAL  SE- 
POYS, DURING  THE  MUTINY, 
1857.  By  Colonel  George  Bour- 
CHiER,  C.B.,  Bengal  Horse  Ar- 
tillery. With  plans.  Post  Svo. 
Price  7s.  6d  clc'th. 

"Col.  Bourchier  has  given  a  right  manly,  fair, 
and  forcible  statement  of  events,  and  the  reader 
will  derive  much  pleasure  and  instruction  from 
his  Tp&ges."—Athenaiim. 

"Col.  Bourchier  desciibes  the  various  opera- 
tions with  a  modest  ibrgetfulness  of  self,  as 
pleasinsr  and  as  rare  as  the  clear  manly  style  in 
which  they  are  narrated." — Literary  Gazette. 

"None  who  reallj  desire  to  be  more  than  very 
superficially  acquainted  with  the  rise  and  pro- 
gress of  the  rebellion  may  consider  their  studies 
complete  until  they  have  read  Col.  Bourchier.  The 
nicely  engraved  plans  Irom  the  Colonel's  own 
sketches  confer  aauitiomil  value  upDU  his  contri- 
bution to  the  hlcratuni  of  the  Indian  war."— 
Leader, 

9 


■VV^OIIKS     PUBr-ISHED     BY 


NEW  WORKS  ON  INDIA  AND  THE  EAST— 

Continued. 
PEF:S0NAL_ADVENTURESDUR.NC    THE^AUTOBIOCRAPHY^^OF  LUT- 

TLEMAN,  wiTU  an  Account  of 
HIS  Visit  to  England.  Edited 
by  E.  B.  Eastwick,  Esq.  Third 
Edition,  small  post  8vo.  Price  5s. 
cloth. 


THE  INDIAN  REBELLION,  IN 
FlOHILCUND,FUTTEGHUR,AND 
OUDE.  By  W.  Edwards,  Esq., 
]5.C.S.  Fourth  Edition,  post  8vo. 
]Vice  65.  cloth. 

"lor  touching  incidents,  hair-breadth 'scapes, 
ard  the  pathos  of  suffering  almost  increaible, 
ther.)  has  appeared  nothing  like  tl.is  ittle  book  oj 
personal  adventures.  For  ihe  ttrsr  time  we  seem 
t^  realize  tlie  magnitude  of  the  atflictious  which 
have  beiallen  our  unhappy  c<nintrymen  in  the 
Bast .  The  teiTiMe  drama  comes  bel.-re  us,  and  we 
are  by  turns  bewildered  with  horror,  stung  to 
fierce  indignation,  and  melted  to  tears.  .  •  •  • 
We  liave  Here  a  tale  of  suffering  t'uch  as  m^y  "»\« 
beer  eoualled,  but  never  surpassed.  These  real 
^tntures.  which  no  effort  of  the  imagination 
can  surpass.  wiU  And  a  sympathising  pubUc.  — 

"Ilr.  Edwards's  narrative  is  one  of  the  most 
deetly  interesting  episodes  of  a  story  of  w men 
tbeleast  striking  portions  cannot  t>e  re»». without 
emotion.  He  tells  his  story  with  simplicity  and 
maiiinoss.  and  it  bears  the  iuiprefs  of  that 
eai-iiest  and  unaffected  reverence  to  the  wiU  and 
hand  of  God,  which  was  the  stay  and  comfort 
of  Eiany  other  brave  hearts."— 0«ard  aw. 

"Fhc  narrative  of  Mr.  Edwards's  suffering  and 
escapes  is  full  of  interest ;  it  teUs  many  a  Pt»nJ'" 
tale,  but  it  also  exliibits  a  man  patient  under  ad- 
versity, and  looking  to  the  God  and  Father  of  us 
aU  )or  guidance  and  ^nvvorW'-EclecUc  Kevi^tc. 

"  Among  the  stories  of  hair-breadth  escapes  in 
India  this  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  ana 
touching."— fTxajwfn^r.  „  ^.        ,  „     - 

'•A  fascinating  little  \)ook:'-NaUonal  Rect^. 

"  A  very  touching  nnTratUe."— Lit.  Gazette. 

"  No  account  of  it  can  do  it  justice."— Gfofcg. 

A  LADY'S  ESCAPE  FROM  GWA- 
LIOR  DURING  THE  MUTINIES 
OF  1857.  By  Mrs.  Coopland. 
Post  8vo.    Price  10s.  dd 

"  A  plain,  unvarnished  tale,  told  in  the  simplest 
manner."— Press.        , ,  ...    . , .  ^  .,^ 

"  This  book  is  valuable  as  a  contribution  to  the 
historv  of  the  gnsat  Indian  rebellion.  •—Athen(euTn. 

'  The  merit  of  this  book  is  its  truth.  .  .  .  ir. 
contiins  some  passages  that  never  will  be  read 
by  Buglishmen  without  emotion. '— Examiner. 

THE  CHAPLAIN'S  NARRATIVE  OF 
THE  SIEGE  OF  DELHI.  By  the 
Rev.  J.  E.  W.  RoTTON,  Chaplain 
to  the  Delhi  Field  Force.  Post 
8vo,  with  a  plan  of  the  City  and 
Siege  Works.     Price  10s.  6</.  cloth. 

'  •  A  simple  and  touching  statement,  which  bears 
the  Impress  of  truth  in  every  word.  It  has  this 
jw  vantage  over  the  accounts  which  have  yet  been 
published,  that  it  supplies  some  of  those  person aJ 
anecdotes  and  minute  details  which  bnng  the 
events  home  to  the  understanding."— i4«A*«^n». 

'"The Chaplain's  Narrative'  is  remarkable  for 
in  pictures  of  men  in  amoral  and  religious  aspect, 
during  the  progress  of  a  harassing  siege  ana 
when  suddenly  stricken  down  by  the  enemy  or 
(t»etkse."—Sf>ectator.  ,     .      .    ^ 

"A  plain  unvarnished  record  of  what  came 
uideraField  Chaplain's  daily  observation.  Our 
aithor  is  a  sincere,  hardworking,  and  generous 
n  inded  man.  and  his  work  will  be  most  acceptable 
to  the  friends  and  relations  of  the  many  Christian 
hsroes  whose  fate  it  tells,  and  to  whose  later 
hsurs  it  alludes."— I/^adCT*. 

♦'  A  book  which  has  value  as  a  careful  narrative 
by  an  eye  witness  of  one  of  the  most  stinmg 
« lisodes  of  the  Indian  campaign,  and  interest  as 
aa  earnest  record  by  a  Christian  minister  of 
S')me  of  the  most  touching  scenes  which  can  come 
under  observation."— Xtierary  Gazette. 

10 


Khan !  "We 
and  delight, 
than  you  are 


"Thiink  you,  Mnnshl  Lntfullah 
hr.ve  read  your  book  with  wonder 
Your  adventures  are  more  <i^}r\im»  -..-..  .-^^^_ 
aware.  ...  But  your  book  is  chien.v  striking 
for  its  genuineness.  .  .  .  Th 3  story  will  aid  m 
its  dPsTree,  to  some  sort  of  understanding  of  the 
Indian  insurrection.  Professor  E'*«tvvick  has  do  e 
a  gratenU  service  in  making  known  this  valuable 

"  Read  ftftv  volumes  of  travel,  and  a  thousand 
imitations  of  the  Oriental  novel,  and  you  will  not 
get  the  flavour  of  Eastern  hfe  and  thonght  or  the 
zest  of  its  romance,  so  perfectly  as  in  Lutfullah's 

**''"ThiriraTemarkable  book..  We  have  auto- 
biographies  in  abuudauceof  Englishmen  French- 
men, and  Cierm.-vns  ;  but  of  Asiatics  and  Mahome- 
tans few  or  none  ...  As  the  autobiography 
of  a  "Sometan  miilla.  it  is  in  itself  singularly 
interestiu"  As  the  observations  of  an  CiC- 
witness  of  our  Indian  possessions  and  our  policy 
and  proceedings  in  the  peninsula,  it  Possess^es  a 
valueofits  own, quite  distinct  from  ^y  t-ur^P^" 
memon.Ua  on  the  same  subjects,  -^f"'  i|«»^'^^^v 

"This  is  the  freshest  and  most  original  work 
that  it  has  been  our  good  fortune  to  meet  with  lor 
long.  It  Dears  every  trace  of  being  a  most  genuine 
account  of  the  feelings  and  doings  of  the  author. 
The  whole  tone  of  .lie  book  the  V^':"^^,^ 
thought  the  association  of  ideas,  the  allusions, 
are  all  ffesh  to  the  English  reailer ;. it  opens  up  a 
new  vein,  and  many  will  be  astonished  to  find 
how  rich  4  vein  it  is.  Lntfullah  is  by  no  means  au 
ordinary  specimen  of  his  race.''-Aco«o«.f»f. 

"This  veritable  autobiography, reads  like  a  mix- 
ture of  the  Life  and  Adventure  of  Gil  Bias,  with 
those  of  the  Three  Calendars."- rJ/oft*?.      

"As an  autobiography,  the  hook  i^very  cimous. 
It  bears  the  strongest  resemblance  to  Gil  Bias  ot 
anything  we  have  ever  retkd."— Spectator. 

THE  CRISIS  IN  THE  PUNJAB. 
By  Frederick  H.  Cooper,  Esq., 
C.  S.,  Umritsir.  Post  8vo,  with 
Map.    Price  7*.  6rf.  cloth. 

♦•  The  book  is  full  of  terrible  interest.  Tlic  nar- 
rative is  written  with  vigour  and  earnestness, 
and    is    fuU    of  the    most    tragic    interest.  — 

""onrof  the  most  interesting  and  spirited  books 
which  have  sprung  out  of  the  sepoy  mutiny.  — 
Globe. 

THE    DEFENCE    OF    LUCKNOW: 

A  Staff -OrncER's  Diary.  By 
Captain  Thomas  F.  Wilson,  13th 
Bengal  N.I.,  Assistant  Adjutant- 
General.  Sixth  Thousand.  With 
plan  of  the  Residency.    Small  post 

8vo.     Price  2*.  6d. 

"Unadorned  and  simple,  the  story  is,  neverthe- 
less, an  eloquent  one.  This  is  a  narrative  not  to 
he  laid  down  until  the  last  line  has  been  read.  — 

''The'staff-Omcer's  Diary  is  simple  and  brief, 
and  has  a  special  interest,  inasmuch  as  it  gives  a 
fuller  account  than  we  have  elsewhere  seen  oi 
those  operations  which  were  tl.e  9l»»e/„!?"™^ 
means  of  salvation  to  our  friends  in  Lucknow. 
The  Sstaff-Otflcer  brines  home  to  us,  by  his  details, 
the  nature  ofihat  uuMeniroinid  contest  upon  the 
resuilof  which  the  fateof  the  beloaguered garrison 

especially  depended."— i:.xa».ti»CT*. 


SIMITIT,    ELDEK    .^VIST)     CO. 


NEW  WORKS  ON  INDIA  AND  THE  EAST— 

Continued. 


THE  LIFE  OF  MAHOMET  AND 
HISTORY  OF  ISLAM  TO  THE 
ERA  OF  THE  HEGIRA.  By 
William  Muir,  Esq.,  Bengal  Civil 
Service.  2  vols.,  8vo.  Price  325. 
cloth. 

"The  most  perfect  life  of  Mahomet  in  the 
"English  language,  or  perhaps  in  anyother.  .  .  . 
Tile  work  is  at  once  learned  and  interesting,  and 
it  cannot  fail  to  be  eagerly  perused  by  all  persons 
having  any  preteusious  to  historical  knowledge." 
—Observer. 

VIEWS  AND  OPINIONS  OF  BRIGA- 
DIER-GENERAL   JACOB,    C.B. 

Eli  ted    by  Capt.   Lewis    Pelly. 
Demy  8vo.     Price  12*.  cloth. 

"The  statesmanlike  views  and  broad  opinions 
enunciated  in  this  work  wouldoommand  attention 
under  any  circumstances,  hut  coming  from  one  of 
such  experience  and  authority  they  are  dauhly 
valuable,  and  merit  the  consideration  of  legis- 
lators and  politicians."— 5^Mw, 

"  The  facts  in  this  book  are  worth  looking  at. 
If  the  reader  desires  to  take  a  peep  into  the  inte- 
rior of  the  mind  of  a  great  man,  let  him  make 
acquaintance  with  the  •Views  and  Opinions  ol 
General  Jacob.'  "—Globe. 

"  This  is  1  ruly  a  gallant  and  soldierly  book ;  very 
Napierish  in  its  self-con rtrtence,  in  its  capital 
sense,  and  in  its  devotedness  to  professional 
honour  and  the  public  good.  The  book  should  be 
studied  h.v  all  who  are  interested  in  the  choice  of 
a  new  government  fur  India."- XJat^i^  News. 

THE  PARSEES  :  their  History, 
Religion,  Manners  and  Customs. 
By  Dosabhoy  Framjee.  Post 
8vo.     Price  10s.  cloth. 

"  Our  author's  account  of  the  inner  life  of  the 
Parsees  will  be  read  with  interest."— Daily  Never. 

"  A  very  curious  and  well  written  book,  by  a 
young  I'arsee,  on  the  manners  and  customs  of 
nis  own  rw:e."— National  Review. 

"An  acceptable  addition  to  our  literature.  It 
gives  information  wliich  many  will  be  glad  to 
have  carefully  gHthered  together,  and  formed  into 
a  shapely  whole."— £conc;//ii«(. 

THE  VITAL  STATISTICS  OF  THE 
EUROPEAN  AND  NATIVE  AR- 
MIES IN  INDIA.  By  Joseph 
Ewart,  M.  D.,  Bengal  Medical 
Service.  Deiny  8vo.  Price  9*. 
cloth. 

"A  valuable  work,  in  which  Dr.  Ewart,  with 
equal  industry  t,nd  skill,  has  compressed  the 
essence  and  import  of  an  immense  mass  of  de- 
tails."—.s'/  ecfafor. 

"  One  main  «>bject  of  this  most  valuable  volume 
is  to  point  out  tlie  causes  which  render  the  Indian 
climate  so  fatal  to  European  troops."— Crifir. 

INDIAN  SCENES  AND  CHARAC- 
TERS, Sketched  from  Life. 
By  Prince  Alexis  Solttkoff. 
Sixteen  Plates  in  Tinted  Litho- 
graphy, with  Descriptions.  Edited 
by  E.  B.  Eastwick,  Esq.,  F.R.S. 
Colombier  folio,  half-bound  in 
morocco,  prints,  3/.  3s.  ;  proofs 
(only  50  copies  printed),  4/.  4*. 


NARRATIVE  O 
FROM  THE  < 
RAL  OF  INDI 
OF  AVAIN16 

op  the  Cou^ 
A^D  People. 
Yule,  Bengal 
8vo,  with  24 
50  woodcuts, 
gantly  bound 
edges,  price  2l 


THE     MISSION 

iOVERNOR-GENE- 

A  TO  THE  COURT 

i55.    With  Notices 

TRY,   Government, 

By   Capt.   Henry 

Engineers.   Imperial 

plates  (12  coloured), 

and  4  maps.    Ele- 

in  cloth,  with   gilt 

12*.  6d. 


A  statelv  volume  in  gorgeous  golden  covers. 
Such  a  book  is  in  our  times  a  rarity.  Large, 
massive,  and  beautifu  in  itself,  it  is  illustrated 
by  a  sprinkling  of  ele;ant  woodcuts,  and  by  a 

series  of  admirable  tin  ted  lithographs 

We  have  read  it  with  <  urio'^ity  and  gratilication. 
as  a  fresh,  full,  and  liminous  report  upon  the 
condition  of  one  of  the  most  interesting  divisions 
oi  Asia  beyond  the  Ganges."— ^<Ae/.flEww». 

"Captain  Yule  has  brought  to  his  narrative  a 
knowledge  of  many  tilings,  which  is  the  main 
help  to  observation.  He  has  a  taste  in  archi- 
I  ecture,  art,  and  the  ccgnate  sciences,  as  well  as 
much  information  on  the  history  and  religion  of 
the  Burmese.  .  .  .  His  description  of  these 
things,  especially  of  thi;  antiuuities,  are  not  only 
curious  in  themselves,  but  for  the  speculations 
they  open  up  as  to  origin  of  the  Burmese  style, 
and  the  splendour  of  the  empire,  centuries  ago!" — 
Spectator. 

"  Captain  Yule,  in  the  preparation  of  the  splendid 
volume  before  us,  has  availed  himself  of  the  labours 
of  those  wJio  preceded  him.  To  all  wlio  are  desirous 
of  possessing  the  best  and  fullest  account  tliat 
has  ever  been  given  to  the  public,  of  a  great,  and 
hitherto  little  known  region  of  the  globe,  the 
intere>ting.  conscientic  us,  and  well-written  work 
of  Captain  Yule  will  hs  ve  a  deep  interest,  while 
to  the  political  econondst,  geographer,  and  mer- 
chant It  will  be  indispensable."— ii'xo»«t«er. 


TIGER  SHOOTING  IN  INDIA.  By 
Lieutenant  William  Rice,  25th 
Bombay  N.  I.  Super  royal  8vo. 
With  12  plates  in  chromo-litho- 
graphy.     Prico  21s.  cloth. 

"These  adventures,  told  in  handsome  large 
print,  with  spirited  chi omo-lithographs  to  illus- 
trate t  hem,  make  the  v<.  lume  before  us  as  pleasant 
reading  as  any  record  of  sporting  achievements 
we  have  ever  taken  in  land."— Atkena;um. 

"A  remarkaldy  pleasant  book  of  adventures 
during  several  seasons  of  'large  game'  hunting 
in  Kajpootana.  The  twelve  chromo-lithographs 
are  very. valuable  accessories  to  the  narrative; 
they  have  wonderful  spirit  and  ft-eshness." — 
Globe. 

"A  good  volume  of  wild  sport,  abounding  in 
adventure,  and  handsomely  illustrated  with 
coloured  plates  from  spirited  designs  by  the 
author."— i-xoMtner. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  INDIA  WITH 
EUROPE,  AND  ITS  POLITICAL 
EFFECTS.  ]5y  B.  A.  Irving, 
Esq.    Post  8vo.    Price  7s.  Qd.  cloth. 

"Mr.  Irving's  work  is  that  of  a  man  thoroughly 
versed  in  his  subject.  It  is  a  historical  hand- 
book of  the  progress  and  vicissitudes  of  European 
trade  with  Indisk."—£conomUit. 

11 


-VVOEICS     3?XJBI.ISIIEr>     BY 


WORKS  ON  INDIA  AND  THE  EAST. 


'" 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  WESTERN  INDIA: 

BEING  THE  EaRLY  HiSTORT  OF  THE 

Factory  at  Surat,  of  Bombay. 
By  Philip  Anderson,  A.M.  2nd 
edition,  8vo,  price  14«.  cloth. 

"(Uiftint.  curious,  and  amusin?,  this  volume 
describes  from  old  manuscripts  and  obscure 
bo^ks  the  life  of  English  merchants  in  an  Indian 
F^'ory  It  contains  fresh  and  amusin?  gossip 
aluSng  on  events  and  characters  of  liTslorical 
impirtance."— ^^Aen<Fwm. 

''A  book  of  permanent  value."— GuarJta». 

UFE  IN  ANCIENT  INDIA.  By  Mrs. 
Speir.  With  Sixty  Illustrations 
by  G.  ScHARF.  8vo,  price  15*., 
elegantly  bound  in  cloth,  gilt  edges. 

"  Whoever  desires  to  have  the  best,  the  com- 
pleest.  and  the  most  popular  view  of  what 
Oriental  scholars  have  made  known  to  ««  respect- 
in«  Ancient  India  must  peruse  the  work  of  Mrs 
Smir-  in  which  he  will  find  the.  story  told  in 
?fear,'correct,  and  unaffected  English.  The  book 
ia  fdmirably  got  ni>."— Examiner. 

THE  CAUVERY,  KISTNAH,  AND 
CODAVERY:  being  a  Report 
ON  THE  Works  constructed  on 
those  Rivers,  for  the  Irrigation 
OF  Provinces  in  the  Presidency 
OF  Madras.  By  R.  Baird  Sxaiith, 
F.G.S.,  Lt.-Col.  Bengal  Engineers, 
&c.,  &c.  In  demy  8vo,  with  19 
Plans,  price  28s.  cloth. 

"A    most   curious  and   interesting  work."— 
E'^onomist. 

THE  BHILSA  TOPES ;  or,  Buddhist 
Monuments  of  Central  India. 
By  Major  Cunningham.  One  vol., 
Svo,  with  Thirty-three  Plates, 
price  305.  cloth. 

"Of  the  Topes  opened  in  various  parts  of  India 
iiDne  have  yielded  so  rich  a  harvest  of  important 
information  as  those  of  Bhilsa,  opened  by  Aliyor 
Cunningham  and  Lieut.  Maisey :  and  which  are 
described,  with  an  abundance  of  highly  curious 
graphic  illustrations,  in  this  most  interesting 
b  iok."— Examiner. 

THE  CHINESE  AND  THEIR  REBEL- 
LIONS. By  Thomas  Taylor 
Meadows.  One  thick  volume,  Svo, 
with  Maps,  price  IS*,  cloth. 

"  Mr.  Meadows'  book  is  the  work  of  a  learned, 
conscientious,  and  observant  person,  and  really 
important  in  many  respects."— Time*. 

•'^Mr.  Meadows  has  produced  a  work  whlcn 
deserves  to  be  studied  by  all  who  would  gain  a  true 
jiDpreciation  of  Chinese  character.  Information 
is  sown  broad-cast  through  every  page.  — 
AtJieTUBum. 

ADDISON'S  TRAITS  AND  STORIES 
OF  ANGLO-INDIAN  LIFE.  With 
Eight  Illustrations,  price  5*.  cloth. 

"An  entertaining  and  instructive  volume  of 
Indian  Anecdotes."— Militarp  Spectator. 

"Anecdotes  and  stories  well  calculated  to 
illustrate  An«lo  Indian  life  and  the  domestic 
manners  and  nabitsof  Rmdostfin. "—Ob$erver. 

"  A  pleasant  collection  of  amusing  anecdotes. 
-  Oritic. 

12 


TRACTS  ON  THE  NATIVE  ARMY 
OF  INDIA.  By  Brigadier-General 
Jacob,  C.B.     Svo,  price  2*.  ed. 

ROYLE  ON  THE  CULTURE  AND 
COMMERCE  OF  COTTON  IN 
INDIA.     Svo,  price  IS*,  cloth. 

ROYLE'S  FIBROUS  PLANTS  OF 
INDIA  fitted  for  Cordage, 
Clothing,  and  Paper.  Svo,  price 
125.  cloth. 


ROYLE'S    PRODUCTIVE    RE- 
SOURCES   OF    INDIA.      Super     j 
royal  Svo,  price  14s.  cloth. 

ROYLE'S   REVIEW    OF  THE   MEA- 
SURES ADOPTED  IN  INDIA  FOR 
THE  IMPROVED  CULTURE  OF    , 
COTTON.    Svo,  2s.  6d,  cloth.  i 

A     SKETCH     OF     ASSAM: 

with  some  Account  of  the  Hill  ' 

Tribes.      Coloured    Plates,    Svo,  \ 

price  145.  cloth.  \ 

BUTLER'S  TRAVELS  AND  ADVEN- 
TURES IN  ASSAM.  OnevoLSvo, 
with  Plates,  price  12*.  cloth. 

DR.  WILSON  ON  INFANTICIDE  IN 
WESTERN  INDIA.  Demy  Svo, 
price  125. 

WARING  ON  ABSCESS  IN  THE 
LIVER.     Svo,  price  3s.  ed. 

LAURIE'S  SECOND  BURMESE 
WAR  — RANGOON.  Post  Svo. 
with  Plates,  price  2*.  6d.  cloth. 

LAURIE'S  PEGU.  Post  Svo,  price 
145.  cloth. 

IRVING'S  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 
OF  CASTE.     Svo,  price  55.  cloth. 

THE  BOMBAY  QUARTERLY 
REVIEW.  Nos.  1  to  9  at  55.,  10  to 
14,  price  65.  each. 

BAILLIE'S    LAND   TAX  OF  INDIA. 

According  to  the  Moohummudan 
Law.     Svo,  price  6*.  cloth. 

BAILLIE'S  MOOHUMMUDAN  LAW 
OF  SALE.     Svo,  price  14».  cloth. 

BAILLIE'S  MOOHUMMUDAN  LAW 
OF  INHERITANCE.  Svo,  price 
9?.  cloth. 


s:m:ith:,   eldek   ^vistd    co. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


ANNALS  OF  BRITISH  LEGIS- 
LATION, A  Classified  Summary 
of  Parliamentary  Papers.  Ed. 
by  Professor  Leone  Levi.  The 
yearly  issue  consists  of  1,000  pages, 
super  royal  Svo,  and  the  Subscrip- 
tion is  Two  Guineas,  payable  in 
advance.  The  Thirty-fourth  Part 
is  just  issued,  commencing  the 
Third  Year's  Issue.  Volumes  L  to 
IV.  may  be  had,  price  4/.  45.  cloth. 

"A  series  that  will,  if  it  be  always  manai?ed  as 
it  now  is  by  Professor  Levi,  last  as  lon^  as  there 
remains  a  Legislature  in  Great  Britain.  These 
Annals  are  to  give  the  essence  of  work  done  and 
information  garnered  for  the  State  during  each 
legislative  year,  a  summary  description  ofevery 
Act  passed,  a  digest  of  the  vital  facts  contained 
in  every  Blue  Book  issued,  and  of  all  documents 
relating  to  the  public  business  of  the  country. 
The  series  will  live,  while  generations  of  men  die, 
if  it  be  maintained  in  its  old  age  as  ably  and  as 
conscientiously  as  it  is  now  in  its  youth."— 
Examiner. 

"The  idea  was  admirable,  nor  does  the  execu- 
tion fall  short  of  the  plan.  To  accomplish  this 
etfectively,  and  at  the  same  time  briefly,  was  not 
an  easy  task ;  but  Professor  Levi  has  undertaken 
it  with  great  success.  The  work  is  essentially  a 
guide.  It  will  satisfy  those  persons  who  refer  to 
it  merely  for  generul  purposes,  while  it  will  direct 
the  research  of  otliers  whose  investigations  take 
a  wider  Ta.nge."—Athenceum, 

CAPTIVITY    OF     RUSSIAN 

PRINCESSES  IN  SHAMIL'S 

SERAGLIO.    Translated  from  the 

Russian,  by  H.  S.  Edwards.    With 

an  authentic  Portrait  of  Shamil,  a 

Plan  of  his  House,  and  a  Map.  Post 

Svo,  price  IO5.  6c?.  cloth. 

"A  book  than  which  there  are  few  novels  more 
interesting.  It  is  a  romance  of  the  Caucasus. 
The  account  of  life  in  the  house  of  Shamil  is  full 
and  very  entertaining ;  and  of  Shamil  himself  we 
see  much."— Examiner. 

"  The  story  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  curiotis 
we  have  read ;  it  contains  the  best  popular  notice 
of  the  social  polity  of  Shamil  and  the  manners  of 
iis  people."— Lead^. 

"The  narrative  is  weU  worth  reading."— 
AthencBum. 

SHARPE'S  HISTORIC  NOTES  ON 
THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTA- 
MENT. Third  and  Revised  Edition. 
Post  Svo,  price  75.  cloth. 

"  An  inestimable  aid  to  the  dergyman.  reader, 
city-jnisaionary,  and  Sun  day -school  teacher.'' 
^Illustrated  Neva  of  the  World. 

"  A  learned  and  sensible  book."— Xational  Be- 
x/iew. 

ELLIS'S  (WILLIAM;  RELIGION  IN 
COMMON  LIFE.  Post  Svo,  price 
75.  6d.  cloth. 

"  A  book  addressed  to  young  people  of  the 
tipper  ten  thousand  upon  social  duties."— 
Jixamnner. 

v-'f®???,"?,^"  Political  Economy  for  young  people 
by  a  skilful  hiind."—iic-o«o»nw<. 


THE  OXFORD  MUSEUM.  By 
Henry  W.  Acland,  M.D.,  and 
JoHM  RusKiN,  A.M.  Post  Svo, 
with  three  Illustrations.  Price 
25.  6c?.  cloth. 

"  Everyone  who  cares  for  the  advance  of  true 
learning,  and  desires  to  ;iote  an  onward  "-tep, 
should  buy  and  read  this  little  volume."— Jforn- 
inp  Herald. 

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THE  ENDOWED  SCHOOLS  OF 
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"A  very  lucid  and  com  jendious  manual.  "We 
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life  to  study  it."— Atheneeum, 

"A  little  book  that  ought  to  be  in  great  request 
among  young  seamen."— l^xaminer. 

ANTIQUITIES     OF    KERTCH, 

and  Research]:s  in  the  Cim- 
merian BosPHoiius.  By  Duncan 
McPherson,  M.I).,  of  the  Madras 
Army,  F.RG.S.,  M.A.I.  Imp.  4to, 
with  Fourteen  Plates  and  numerous 
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attention  of  every  student 
No  one  can  fail  to  be  pleas 
has  so  much  to  attract  th 
love  of  beauty  and  eleganc 
The  book  is  got  up  with 
and  forms  one  of  the  hand 
recently  issued  from  t 
Saturday  Review. 


deserves  the  carefiU 

of  classical  antiquity. 

ed  with  a  work  which 

3  eye  and  to  gratify  the 

e  in  design 

great  care  and  taste, 
somest  works  that  have 
ae    English    pi-css."— 


WESTGARTH'S       VICTORIA, 

AND  THE  Australian  Gold  Mines 
IN  1857.  Post  Svc,  with  Maps,  price 
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and  ausgestive."—AthencBt'.m. 

"  A  lively  account  of  the  most  wonderful  bit  of 
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furnished."— Z^xaminer. 

"We  think  Mr.  Westgsrth's  book  much  the 
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great  crisis  in  its  history." -^afwrda;^  Review. 

"A  mtional,  vigorous,  illustrative  report  upon 
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"V 


.VOSKIS     IPTJIBLISirEr)     EY 


MISCELLANEOUS— con^inw^^. 


TAULER'S  LIFE  AND  SERMONS. 
Translated  by  Miss  Susanna  Wink- 
woRiH.  With  a  Preface  by  the 
Eev.  Charles  KiNGSLEr.  Small 
4to,  printed  on  Tinted  Paper,  and 
bound  in  Antique  Style,  with  red 
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Price  75.  6c?. 

"Miss  Winkworth  has  done  «  8e^^««l "^l^Ul^ 
t<»  church  history  and  to  literature  but  to  tl^^^^^^ 
■who  seek  simole  and  true-hearted  devouonai 
?,Hdin«  or  w™o  desire  to  kuidlc  their  own  piety 
tlirSuRh  the  example  o'  ^ "tly  men  hy  produ^^^^^^^^^ 
a  verv  instructive,  complete,  and  d<'eP>y^i''^ere8  - 
iiie  life  of  Tauler.and  by  irivinatousHlt'oa  sample 
of  Tauler's  sermons  tastefully  and  vigorously 
t-anslatpd."-GKarrftan.  , 

"No  difference  of  opinion  can  ^e  felt  as  to  the 
intrinsic  value  of  these  sermons,  or  the  general 
interest  attaching  to  this  ^"o'<;,.The  Sermon;; 
are  well  selected,  and  the  translation  excellent. 
—AthencBum. 

CHANDLESS'S    VISIT    TO    SALT 

LAKE  :      BEING  A  JOORNEY  ACROSS 

THE  Plains  to  the  Mormon 
Settlements  at  Utah.  PostSvo, 
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overnment%stitutioiis.  morality.and  the  smsu- 

!ar  relationship  of  tjie  sexes,  with  its  conse- 

'''»Trose'"^^h"^  would  understand  what  Mor- 
nomsm  is  can  do  no  better  than  read  this 
mtheSic.  though  light  and   lively  volume."- 

^^fiTmpresses  the  reader  as  f  aithful."-i\ra/io72aZ 
Review. 

DOUBLEDAY'S      LIFE      OF      SIR 

ROBERT    PEEL.    Two  volumes, 

8vo,  price  18s.  cloth. 

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worth  readini?.  and  very  pleasantly  and  sensibly 

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"This  biography  is  a  workof^reat  merit  con- 

Bcientiously  prepared,  plain,  clear,  and  practically 

'""\7i?rp-ro'5Srbf  trreat  merit,  and  ^ve  hail 
it  as  a  most  valuable  contribution  to  economical 
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CAYLEY'S    EUROPEAN    REVOLU- 
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ing  history    of    an   Important  epoch."  — Aeic 

"  Two  instructive  volumes."— Oftscrrer. 

BUNSEN'S  (CHEVALIER)  SIGNS 
OF  THE  TIMES  ;  or.  The  Dan- 
gers TO  Religious  Liberty  in 
the  Present  Day.  Translated  by 
Miss  Susanna  Winkworth.  One 
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♦Tr.Bunsen  is  doing  good  service.not  only  to 
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the  present  state  of  the  world."-i;rtr»«A  Quar- 
terly. 

14 


THE    COURT    OF    HENRY    VUI.: 

being     a     Selection     of     the 
Despatches  of  Sebastian  Gius- 
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1515-1519.      Translated  by  Raw-    ; 
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FORBES'     (SIR      JOHN)     SIGHT- 

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SlVIITir,     EI.33EJR     Js^J^T>     CO. 


MISCELLANEOUS— continued. 


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15 


^ 


Hi 


MISCELLANEOUS— confinwecf. 


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\ 


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16 


NATIONAL  SONGS  AND  LEGENDS 

OF   ROUMANIA.    Translated  by 

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LECTURES     ON     THE     ENGLISH 

HUMOURISTS    OF   THE   18TH 

CENTURY.  ByW.M.THACKERAY, 

Author  of  "  Vanity  Fair,"   "  The 

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"■Vfhat  fine  things  these  lectures  contain;  what 
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"  To  those  who  attended  the  lectures  the  book 
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ing strokes  of  sarcasm  or  irony ;  the  occasional 
flashes  of  generous  scorn  ;  the  touches  of  pathos, 
pity,  and  tenderness  ;  the  morality  tempered  but 
never  weakened  by  experience  and  sympathy;  the 
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passages  of  wise,  practical  reflection ;  all  these 
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\e(il\xtQT."— Spectator. 

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are  truly  beautiful,  suggestive  Essays,  on  topics 
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humorous,  pathetic,  subtle,  pleasant,  and  thou^ht- 

.  •  # ',  /  •  Thackeray's  style,  half  sad.  half 
plajrful,  Is  seen  to  perfection  in  this  volume."— 

."It  is  not  easy  to  say  or  show  how  exceedingly 
nch  it  is  in  reflection,  in  wisdom,  in  wit  and 
humour,  in  genial  feelings,  and  m  expressive 
language."— ^owcow/oriwiaf. 


BRITISH    INDIA.    By  Harriet 

Martineau.     Price  2*.  6rf.  cloth. 

"A  good   compendium  of  a  great  subject."— 
National  Review, 
"  Lucid    glowing,   and    instructive  essays."— 

yl'  ^5.*  i»»nd^l^  to  the  history  of  India  it  is  the 
oest  that  has  yet  appeared."— jtfor7«wiir  Herald. 


:[TS    Memorable 
AX])    Events.     By 


THE     TOWN: 

Characters 

Leigh  Hunt.  Wil  h  45  Engravings. 

Price  2s.  6rf.  cloth. 

"We  will  allow  no  higher  enjoyment  for  a 
rational  Englishman  thar,  to  stroll  leisurely 
through  this  marvellous  toivn,  arm  in  arm  with 
Mr.  Leigh  Hunt.  The  charm  of  Mr.  Hunt's  book 
is,  that  he  gives  us  the  outpourings  of  a  mind 
enriched  with  the  most  agreeable  knowledge: 
there  is  not  one  page  whici  does  not  glow  with 
interest.  It  is  a  series  of  pictures  from  the  life, 
representing  scenes  in  which  every  inhabitant  oi 
the  metropolis  has  an  interost."— rimeg. 

"'The  Town'  is  a  book  'or  all  places  and  all 
persons:  for  the  study,  vrhen  one  is  tired  of 
labour  ;  for  the  drawing-ro  jm,  parlour,  carriage, 
or  steam-boat."— Spec^a^or. 

"  This  is  one  of  the  very  pleasantest  works  of 
Leigh  Hunt.  We  are  never  out  of  sight  of  sove- 
reigns or  subjects,  notable  buildinjss  and  the 
builders  thereof,  booksellers  and  bookmakers, 
plays  and  players,  men  about  town,  and  the 
haunts  where  they  drank  ttieir  wine  and  tapped 
one  another's  wiX."'-Athenomm, 


THE  POLITICAL  EiCONOMY  OF 
ART.  By  John  Hdskin,  M.A. 
Price  25.  6(f.  cloth. 

"A  most  able,  eloquent,  smd  well-timed  work. 
We  hail  it  with  satisfaction,  thinking  it  calculated 
to  do  much  practical  good,  ar  d  we  cordially  recom- 
mend it  to  our  readers."— Jfi<ne»«. 

"Mr.  Ruskin's  chief  purpose  is  to  treat  the 
artist's  power,  and  the  art  itself,  as  items  of  the 
world's  wealth,  and  to  shov  how  these  may  be 
best  evolved,  produced,  ac^jumulated,  and  d\^' 
tT\'h\\\eA."—Atneti(rnm. 

"We  never  quit  Mr.  Rushin  without  being  the 
better  for  what  he  has  told  us,  and  therefore  we 
recommend  this  little  volume,  like  all  his  other 
works  to  the  perusal  of  our  rtaders."—J?co«OBM«^ 

"This  book,  daring  as  it  is,  glances  keenly  at 
principles,  of  which  some  ate  among  the  articles 
of  ancient  codes,  while  others  are  evolving  slowly 
to  the  light."— Xeadcr. 

THE  ITALIAN  CAMPAIGNS  OF 
GENERAL  BON/PARTE.  With 
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correspondence  in  particular,  appear  to  have 
been  carefully  and  intelligently  consulted.  The 
result  is  a  very  readable  and  useful  volume."— 
Athehcpiim. 

"  It  is  the  least  merit  of  Itlr.  Hooper's  'Italian 
Campaigns  '  that  it  appears  at  a  moment  when  a 
good  book  on  the  subject  must  be  cenerally  wel- 
come; and,  speaking  not  uniidvisedly,  we  declare 
It  to  be  our  belief,  the  best  popular  account  of  iis 
subject  which  has  yet  appealed  in  aui' language." 
—Spectator. 


PREPARING  FOR  PUBLICATIOl!^. 

A  New  Edition  of  the 

LIFE  OF  CHARLOTTE  BRONTE.     (CURRER  BELL),     i^uthor  of  "Jane 
Eyre,"&c.    By  Mrs.  Gaskell.    Price  2s.  6t/.         ineariv  ready. 


17 


■WOmvlS    I>TJ33I.ISIIEr>     BY- 


CHEAP  SERIES   OF  POPULAR  FICTIONS. 

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JANE    EYRE.      By   Ccrrer   Bell. 
Price  2s.  6d.  cloth. 

" '  Tatie    Evrc '   is  a  remarkable    production. 

l^reshness   and   originality,   truth   an.i  passion. 
Slar   feUcitv  in'' the   description  of  natural 

Pcenery  and  in  the  analyzation  of  human  thought, 
Sle^this  tale  to  ^''^"d  boldly  out  from  the  mass 

,ind  to  assume  its  own  plaice  in  the  bright  tteia  or 

]-omantic  literature."— rt»»^»- 

"  •  Jane  Eyre  '  is  a  book  of  decided  power.  The 
thoughts  are  true,  sound  and  0"Kinal:  and  the 
stvle  is  resolute,  stnujihtforward,  and  to  the 
puiTose.  The  object  aud  moral  of  the  work  are 
sicellent."— £xu»iiHer. 

"A  very  pathetic  tale;  very  singular,  and  so 
like  truth  tnat  it  is  ditlicult  to  »void  behenng 
that  much  of  the  characters  and  incipient s  are 
taken  fr<.m  life.  It  is  f^^.^V^^'^'^^ ^nxhi^v-or^-a.- 
day  world,  most  inlerestmij:,  aud  touched  at  mice 
with  a  daring  and  delicate  hand.  It  is  a  book  for 
The  e^ovment  of  a  feeling  heurt  and  vigorous 
understaudiug."— B/acA-tcood'al/uyastne. 

"  Por  many  years  there  has  been  no  wo^k  of 
such  power,  piquancy,  and  originality,  its  very 
faults  are  on  the  side  ol  viaruur,  and  its  beaut  es 
are  all  original.  It  is  a  book  of  singular  fascma- 
tion."— Edinburgh  Review. 

"  Almost  all  that  we  require  in  a  novelist  the 
writer  has;  perception  of  character  and  power 
of  delineatina:  it;  picturesqueness,  passion,  and 
knowledi,'e  of  life.  Reality -deep  significant 
reality  — is  the  characteristic  of  this  book.  — 
Iraser's  Magazine. 

SHIRLEY.    By  Cukker  Bell.    Price 

2s.  6d.  cloth. 

"The  peculiar  power  which  was  so  greatly 
admired  In  'Jane  Eyre'  is  not  »J>se»t  from  this 
book.  It  possesses  deep  interest,  and  an  irre- 
sistible gri«p  oi  reality.  There  is  a  vividness  and 
tlistinctuess  of  conception  in  it  quite  marvelloiis. 
The  power  of  graphic  delineation  and  expressiou 
is  intense.  There  are  scenes  which,  for  stre^th 
and  dehcacy  of  emotion,  are  not  transcended  in 
the  range  of  English  &c\\on."-Examner. 

"  •  Shirley '  is  an  admirable  book  ;  totally  free 
from  cat.t,  affectation,  or  conventional  tinsel  or 
any  kind;  genuine  English  in  the  independence 
and  uprightness  of  the  tone  of  thought,  in  the 
purity  of  heart  and  feeling  which  pervade  it; 
Genuine  English  in  the  masculine  vigour  or  rough 
orieinalitv  ut  its  conception  of  character;  and 
genuine  English  In  style  and  diction.'  -Morning 
Chronicle 


"The  same  piercing  and  loving  eye,  and  the 
game  bold  and  poetic  imagery,  are  exhibited  liere 
as  in  •  Jane  Eyre.'  Similar  power  is  manirested  in 
the  deliueatiou  of  cliaracter.  With  a  few  brief 
vigorous  touches,  the  picture  starts  into  distinct- 
ness."—£din6arfl'A  Review. 

"  •  Shirley '  is  very  clever.  It  could  not  be  other- 
wise The  faculty  of  graphic  description,  strong 
imaKination,  fervid  and  masculine  diction,  a,na- 
Ivtic  skill,  all  are  visible.  ....  ^.Gems  of  rare 
thought  and  glorious  passion  shine  here  ana 
there."— rt»«». 

"  •  Shirley '  is  a  book  demanding  close  perusal 
and  careful  consideration."— .If  A«n<Ett». 

"  '  Shirley '  is  a  novel  of  remarkahle  power  and 
brilliancy  ;  it  is  calculated  to  rouse  attention, 
excite  the  imagination,  and  keep  the  faculties  in 
eager  and  impatient  anafen&e."— Morning  Pott. 

"  '  Shirley  *  is  the  anatomy  of  the  female  heart. 
It  is  a  book  which  indicates  exquisite  feeling,  and 
very  great  power  of  mind  in  the  writer.    The 
women  are  sdl  divine."— Dot/y  Newt. 
IS 


VILLETTE.    By  CuRRER  Bell.  Price 

2s.  &d.  cloth.  j 

"  •  Villette*  is  a  most  rcmaikable  work— a  pro- 
duction altogether  »ui  generif.  Fulness  and 
V "our  of  th^Kht  mark  almost  every  sentence. 
a,rd"here  is  a  sort  of  easy  power  Pervadu.g  tlie 
whole  narrative  surfi  as  we  have  rarely  met.  - 
Edinburph  Review.  .  ., 

"  This  novel  amply  sustains  the  ff^e  of  tl  e  , 
author  of '  Jane  Eyre  '  and  '  Shirley  as  an  ongmal 
and  powerful  writer.  •  Villette '  is  a  most  aumi. 
rably  written  novel,  everywhere  original,  every-  \ 
where  8hrewd."—£xa»ntnar.  .  ^  .  #w»«>,«p«k. 
"  'Hiere  is  throuishont  a  charin  of  freshness 
which  is  infinitely. delightful :  ^eshness  in  obser- 
vation, freshness  in  feeling,  freshness  in  expres-     , 

"'"Vh^ialffs^Tn^Ihe  affections,  and  remark- 
able  as  a  picture  of  manners     A  buruiug  hear 
glows  throughout  it,  and  one  bnUiantly  dibtiuct 
character  keens  it  alive." — AtherxBum. 

"Gillette 'Ts  crowded  with  beauties,  with  eood 
things,  for  which  we  look  to  the  clear  si^jVj' ^tSP 
deling,  and  singular  though  l»f/J^e|isive  expe- 
rience of  life,  w^iich  we  associate  with  the  name 
of  Currer  BelV— Daily  Neics. 

"  '  Villette  •  is  entitled  to  take  a  ▼•^^gh  place 
in  the  literature  of  fiction^  The  r«ador  w  1  find 
character  nicely  conceived  and  ^powe'^""^ _'*®: 
Picted:  ho  will  discover  much  quut  hutnour,  a 
Fively  wit.  brilliant  dialogue,  vivid  descriptions, 
reflections  both  new  and  true,  sentiment  ft-^ 
from  cant  and  conventionality  and  bursts  of  elo- 
qiience  and  poetry.  Hashing  here  and  there.  - 

-The  fascination  of  genius  dwells  in  this  book 
which  is  in  our  judgment,  superior  to  any  oi 
Currer  Bel's  previous  efforts.  For  origmahty  of 
Sn^Jtion  gr^p  of  character  e»»^^j.««  p*"^'^^ 
consistency  of  (fetail,  «ndPicturesquo  force  ot 
expression,  few  works  in  the  Eof)  sh  .'.^"K'iSf. 
can  stand  the  test  of  comparison  with  it.  -Morn- 
ing Pott. 

WUTHERING  HEIGHTS  AND 
AGNES  GREY.  By  Ellis  and 
Acton  Bell.  With  Memoir  by 
Currer  Bell.    Price  2s.  6d.  cloth. 

"There  are  passages  in  this  book  of  ;*;«tiiering 
Heights'  of  which  any  "o^ehst,  past  or  presMU. 
miffht  be  croud.    It  has  been  said  of  s>lmke8peare 
a  hr(?rew  cases  which  the  Vhri''')?J^iF« 
study ;  Ellis  Bell  has  done  no  ^'^^^-'I'l'^'lf^^. 

"•There  is,  at  all  ev.nts,  keeping  m  the  book, 
the  groups  of  figures  and  the  sceuery  are  in  har- 
mony with  each  other.  There  is  a  touch  of  !>ul- 
vator  Rosa  in  h\\."— Atlas.  ^*„»„«  nf  a 

'- WutheriuK  Heights'  bears  the  stamp  of  a 
profoundly  individual,  strong  ani^rtmchrng 
mind.  The  memoir  is  one  of  tbe  m(^st  to„cln^^^^ 
chapters  in  literary  biograpliy."-Ao?iC(»i/oni.i«t. 


A  LOST  LOVE.  ByAsHFORD  Owe>-. 
Price  2s.  cloth. 

"•A  Lost  Love'  is  a  story  full  of  grace  and 
genius.  No  outline  of  the  story  would  give  any 
ideaof  its  beauty."— >4<*e7JffMm.    .      .        „„^,,.»i 

"A  tale  at  once  moving  «-ii^  ^v^nn"  fvSeE' 
and  romantic,  and  certain  to  raise  all  the  tUifci 

sympathies  of  the  reader's  nature    -^;//»-.„,^fr 
"  A  real  picture  of  woman's  life."— H  ettmtmiin 

*^^ery  beautiful  »nd  touching  story  It  J^^ 
tr'ie  to  nature,  and  appeals  to  all  «ho  haNC  nci- 
forgotten  love  and  youth."— G.o&e. 

"A  novel  of  great  genius ;  beautiful  and  tnie  as 
lifeitself."-A'efrQMaW«:/ypneir.  j 

*A   striking   and   original   »^n  l^-Z. 
genius  and  ^erysMtMity. •'-Saturday  Review. 

"This  volume  displays  unquestionable  genius 
and  that  of  a  high  order."-Lady'»  Newtpaper, 


CHEAP  SERIES  OF  POPULAR  FICTIOXS— 

Continued. 


DEERBROOK.  By  Harrlet 
Martineau.    Price  2s.  6d.  cloth. 

"Tliis  popular  fiction  presents  a  true  and  ani- 
mated picture  of  country  life  among  the  upper 
middle  classes  of  English  residents,  and  is  re- 
markahle for  Its  interest,  arising  from  the 
influence  of  various  characters  upon  each  other, 
and  the  effect  of  ordinary  circumstances  upon 
them.  The  descriptions  of  rural  scenery,  and  the 
daily  pursuits  in  villa4<e  hours,  are  among  the 
most  charming  of  the  author's  writings;  but  the 
way  in  which  exciting  incidents  gradually  arise 
out  of  the  most  ordinary  phases  of  life,  and  the 
skill  with  which  natural  and  every -day  characters 
are  brought  out  in  dramatic  situations,  attest  the 
power  of  the  author's  genius."— 

TALES    OF    THE    COLONIES. 

By  Charles    Rowcroft.      Price 
2s.  6d.  cloth. 

"  'Tales  of  the  Colonies  '  is  an  able  and  interest- 
ing book.  The  author  has  tlie  first  great  requisite 
in  fiction— a  knowledge  of  the  life  he  undertakes 
to  describe;  aud  his  matter  ia  solid  and  real."— 
Spectator. 

"It  combines  the  fidelity  of  truth  with  the 
spirit  of  a  romance,  and  has  altogether  much  of 
De  Foe  in  its  character  aud  composition."— 
Ltterarp  Gazette. 

ROMANTIC  TALES  (including 
"Avillion").  By  the  Author  of 
"John  Halifax,  Gentleman."  A 
new  edition.    Price  2s.  6d.  cloth. 

"  In  a  nice  knowledge  of  the  refinements  of  the 
female  heart,  and  in  a  happy  power  of  depicting 
emotion,  the  authoress  is  excelled  by  very  few 
story  tellers  of  the  dsLy."— Globe. 

"'^"Uion'  is  a  beautiful  and  fanciful  storv. 
and  the  rest  make  very  agreeable  reading.  There 
IS  not  one  rf  them  unquickened  by  true  feeling 
exquisite  taste,  aud  a  pure  aud  vivid  imagina- 
tion."—^xamiwer. 

DOMESTIC     STORIES.       By    the 

Author  of  "John  Halifax,  Gentle- 
man," &c.     Price  2s.  6d.  cloth. 

*„"  ^V  a  nice  knowledge  of  the  refinements  of  the 
female  heart  and  in  ,i  happy  power  of  depicting 
emotion,  the  authoress  is  excelled  by  very  few 
story-tellers  of  the  da-y. "-Globe.  * 

*»lv  ®''^  '*  ^9^  ""«  of  them  unquickened  by  true 
feehng,  exquisite  t^ste.  and  a  pure  and  vivid 
imagination."-JtVr««fHf'r. 

As  pleasant  and  fanciful  a  miscellany  as  has 
bee,n  given  to  the  public  iu  these  latter  days  "- 

«J^.^°  *w^*®  h^^  fl"*  essays  into  the  realms  of 
fiction.  Miss  Muloch  has  shown  a  daring  spirit  in 

w«^^*^'?.*y^H'^  «."<^«P  "f  tlie  subjects  that  she 
\Mad\e%."— Eclectic  Review. 

^i!i!l '"*''^'J^  ^*"'''  *8  ^^  tlie  machinery  with 
which  a  writer  works  out  his  purpose,  provided 

work^^^Z'^'^i^fr  '"'"^'^V^'^-  ^"'^  ^^^  executiJn  of  the 
work  good     Both  conditions  are  perfectly  fulfilled 

irn^^tK^'"'"''  ^^^^'•^  "^ ;  the  seuri  Jiint  is  pS4  ind 
ll'ilf *  \^®  "'."/'J>  excellent,  and  the  stvle  incompa- 
rably beautiful,  "-/^^uirfru^ed  Newe  6f  the  World 
.o^t  ^  cannot  recommend  to  our  readers  a  plea-* 
santer  book  for  an  evening  s  insm^stion  and 
amu8emeut."-iady'«  Newspaper.  ^^^^  *"** 


Fourth  edition, 


AFTER  DARK.    By  "ViriLBLiE  Collins. 
Price  2s.  6d.  cloth. 

"Mr.  Wilkte  Collins  stands  in  the  foremost  rank 
of  our  younger  writers  of  fiction.  He  tells  a 
story  well  and  forcibly,  his  style  is  eloquent  and 
picturesque:  he  has  consid*  rable  powers  of  pa- 
thos; understands  the  art  of  construction:  is 
never  wearisome  or  wor.ty.  and  has  a  keen  insight 
into  character."— Dai/yJVe»«. 

"Stories  of  adventure,  well  varied,  and  often 
striking  m  the  incidents,  or  with  thrilling  situa- 
tions They  are  about  as  pleasant  reading  as  a 
novel  reader  could  desire."— .?p«c«;a<or. 

Mr.  VVilkie  Collins  has  beea  happy  in  the  choice 
Of  a  thread  whereon  to  strina  the  pearls;  we  read 
it  almost  as  eagerly  as  the  stories  themselves. 
Mr.  Collins  possesses  a  rare  faculty  I'art  de 
canter.  So  man  living  better  tells  a  story."— 
Lea  er. 

"Mr.  Wilkie  Collins  takes  high  rank  among 
the  who  can  invent  a  thrilling  story  and  t  11  it 
\vith  brief  simplicity.  The  power  of  commanding 
the  faculties,  of  the  reader  is  exercised  in  nearly 
all  these  stories."— GZo6e. 

"Their  great  merit  consists  either  in  the  effec- 
tive presentation  of  a  mystery,  or  the  ert'ective 
working  up  of  striking  situations."- IFesiminsier 
Review. 

"  '  After  Dark'  abounds  wth  genuine  touches 
of  nature."— J9r^Yi»A  Quarter!}/. 

"These  stories  possess  all  the  author's  well- 
known  beauty  of  style  and  dramatic  power."— 
New  Quarterly. 

PAUL    FERROLL. 

price  2s.  cloth. 

"  We  have  seldom  read  so  wonderful  a  romance. 
We  can  find  uo  fault  iu  it  us  a  work  of  art.  It 
leaves  us  in  admiration,  alnost  in  awe,  of  the 
powers  of  its  author."- JV^pw  Quarterly. 

"The  art  displayed  in  presjnting  Paul  FerroU 
throughout  the  story  is  be^^ond  all  praise."— 
Exormner. 

"The  incidents  of  the  book  are  extremely  well 
managed."— .4  ^Aenffwm. 

"  The  fruit  of  much  thoughtful  investigation  Is 
represented    to    us    in   the  character  of   Paul 

Ferroll We  do  not  need  to  he  told  how 

he  felt  and  why  he  acted  thus  and  thus;  it  will 
be  obvious  to  most  minds  fi-om  the  very  opening 
pages.  But  the  power  of  the  story  is  not  weak- 
ened by  this  early  knowlndge :  rather  is  it 
heightened,  since  the  artistic  force  of  contrast  is 
grand  and  fearful  in  the  two  Jlgui'es  who  cling  so 
closely  together  in  their  loid  human  love."— 
Morning  iJhronicle. 

SCHOOL     FOR     FATHERS. 

By  Talbot  Gwynne.    Price  2s.  cl. 

"  'The  School  for  Fathers  '  is  one  of  the  cleverest, 
most  brilliant,  genial,  and  ins  :ructive  stories  that 
we  have  read  since  the  publication  of  '  Jane 
Eyre.'"— Eclectic  Review. 

"  The  pleasantest  tale  we  huve  read  for  many  a 
day.  It  is  a  story  of  the  Tatler  and  Spectator 
days,  and  is  very  fitly  associited  with  that  time 
of  good  E.iglish  literature  by  its  manly  feeling, 
direct,  unaffected  manner  of  writing,  aud  nicely- 
managed,  well-turned  narrati  ^e.  The  dest  riptions 
are  excellent;  some  of  the  co  intry  painting  is  as 
fresh  as  a  landscape  by  Alfrod  Constable,  or  an 
idyl  by  Tennyson."- jExawiimr. 

"A  capital  picture  of  t-o\ra  and  country  a 
cent  iry  ago;  and  is  emphatically  the  freshest, 
raciest,  and  most  artistic  pieca  of  fiction  that  has 
lately  come  iu  our  -w as ."—Nonconformitt. 


PREPARING  FOR  PUBLICATION. 

KATHIE  BRANDE :  the  Fireside  History  of  a  Quiet  Life.    By  Holme 

Lee,  Author  of  "  Sylvan  Holt's  Daughter." 
BELOW  THE  SURFACE.    By  Sir  Arthur  Hallam  Elton  Bart.,  M.P. 
THE  TENANT  OF  WILDFELL  HALL.    By  Acton  Bell.        (^Just  ready.) 
19 


■w 


rOIlICS     rXJBlLISIIElD     BY 


NEW    NOVELS. 


1, 


(to  be  had  JlT 

AGAINST  WIND  AND  TIDE.  By 
Holme  Lee,  Author  of  "  Sylvan 
Holt's  Daughter."    (Now  ready.) 


h 


lEXTREMES.  By  Miss  E.  W.  Atkin- 
son, Author  of  ''  Memoirs  of  the 
Queens  of  Prussia."     2  vols. 

••  A  nervous  and  vigorous  style,  an  elabomte 

Sfdin?  hours  passed  in  perusing  ^Extremes. 
"  We'L'^e'no  hesitation  in  placing  this  book 

high  above  th?   ephemeral   f  ?r^,%]^l"LS^i^re 
fvnm  time  to  time  the  circulating  libraries  are 

S^i^dSrt.  The  story  is  not  «o  i«Srs  Vo""  pro' 
« TftTip  Fvre '  nor  are  the  characters  so  pr" 
Mounced  as'thosein  *Adam  Bede,*  and  yet  we 
riJ^V>v  •Fvtremes'  will  bear  comparison  with 
Sther  of  the  t^^>.  There  is  throughout  the  whole 
Kc^thft  trace  of  great  power  and  delicate 
jScVtionKnute^ha.les%f  chai^^c^^^^ 

*'-Sfem?s'i8  a  novel  written  witl  a  sober 

«„^«p    and  wound  up  with   a  moral.    .  ine 

SS^S^ll'is  to  ex^mplifSr  some  of  the  errors  arising 

|tJ.Tmistakenzearinieligi(m^ 

evil  consequeuoes  that  flow  from  those  errors.  - 

^^•^The  machinery  of  the  plot  is  ^^e"J?^i'^^"rtd* 
and  well  worked  out,  and,  we  need  scarcely  acia 
well  calcul  ited  to   afford    gratification  to  the 
reader."— Pre«*. 

THE  TWO  HOMES.  By  the  Author 
of  '*  The  Heir  of  ValUs."  3  vols. 
"There  is  a  great  deal  that  is  very  Kpodin  this 
book-a  great  ^eal  of  good  feeling  and.excellent 
d^siKn  .  .  There  are  some  Kood  Pictures  of 
SlYra,  and  of  life  and  society  there ;  and  there 
wfeNid^nces  of  much  painstaking  and  talent.  - 

"^'^-fhe  Two  Homes '  is  a  very  clever  novel.  .  . 
Madeira  furnShes  Mr  Mathews  wit h  a  fert Ue 
tbpme  for  his  descnptive  powers.  The  dialogue 
is  g^d:  the  characters  al!  speak  and  act  con- 

onlinlr?St"and  is  written  thro^^^^^^^  m  a 
careful  and  elegant  siyler-Mormng  Post. 

THE  DENNES  OF  DAUNDELYONN. 
By  Mrs.  Charles  J.  Proby.   3  vols. 

"  This  is  a  novel  of  more  than  average  merit. 
The^  is  considerable  knowledge  of  character, 
power  of  description,  and  quiet  social  satire,  ei- 

%l1i^"renKf 'p^unddVonn '  is  a  very  read- 
Able  book,  and  will  be  immensely  popular.  •  •  • 
I?  haVmany  beauties  which  deservedly  recom- 
mend it  to  the  novel  reader.  -  Critic 

••  •  The  Deunes  of  Daundelyonn  is  a  l>opk  writ- 
ten with  Kreat  vigour  and  freshness.'  —Z^.af/er. 

"  There^rmcri  cleverness  and  variety,  "' V'ff 
volumes  than  in  twenty  average  novels,  -uuoe. 

COUSIN    STELLA;    or,    Conflict 
By  the  Author  of  "Violet  Bank. 

3  vols. 

••  An  excellent  novel,  written  with  great  care ; 
the  interest  is  well  sustained  to  the  end.  and  the 
characters  are  all  life-like..  It  is  an  extremely 
well-written  and  well-conceived  story,  with  quiet 
power  and  precision  of  touch,  with  freshness  of 
interest  and  great  merit:'— AthentTum.  .    ^^^.   „ 

«'•  Cousin  Stella-  has  the  merit,  now  becoming 
rarer  and  rarer,  of  a  comparative  novelty  m  us 
SuWectrthe  interest  of  wlUch  will  secure  for  this 
novel  a  fair  share  of  popularity." -Safwrdai/ 
Review. 

20 


ALL  LIBRARIES.) 

CONFIDENCES.    By  the  Author  of 

*♦  Rita." 

••DecidedW   both  good  and  in**"**!"?:.  .^1! 

hook  has  a  ftesh  and  pleasant  air  about  it .  ii  is 

Written  in  an  excellenf  tone,  and  there  are  touches 

of  oathos  here  and  there  which  we  must  rank 

wifh'aT.iJhe?  style  of  co^PA^rclaJf "-S 
usually  attained  in  works  of  this  class,     ^ew 

^^.^/h^iT^e^^Sfel.  by  the  author  of  'Rita^di^^^^ 
nlavs  the  same  combination  of  ease  and  power  in 
?he^  delineation  of  character   the  same  U^^^^^^ 
dialogue,  and  the  same  faculty  of  constructing  an 
interesting  sXot^."- Spectator.  nleasine 

"  •  Confidences'  is  written  V"  *I^®,^^°d  for  vSs 
manner  of  any   novel  we  have  read  for  years 

^^^Aci^vl^bwk.  and  not  too lori^." -Examiner, 


TRUST     FOR     TRUST.      By 

A.  J.  Barrowcliffe,   Author  ot 
"  Amherhill."    3  vols. 

"  Thn  storv  is  admirably  developed.  The  interest 
nevIrflaSs  the  incidents  are  natural  without 
beinl  commWace.  and  the  men  and  woman  talk 
^^^'^t^Viefdl^rwe  S^ev-eTTfn'this  great  age  of 
nove   wrTtiirs"  niuc^  that  i«  Ple:"*"^  ^^^^ 

l^nSi^cTo^V^in^iajiV^-^^^ 

■"^Thfstory  evinces  vigour  of  description  and 
power  of  writing."-I/i«erari^  CAMrcA/na». 

ELLEN  RAYMOND;  oR,  Ups  and 
Downs.  By  Mrs.  Vidal,  Author 
of  "Tales  for  the  Bush,"  &c. 
3  vols. 

«•  ThP  T>lot  is  wrontrht  out  wi^h  wonderful  Inge- 
nuit^andhernTrent  characters  are  sustained 
KeVfect  keeping  to  the  end."-/W«atra<eci  A«3 

"■^"Tlirchlr'acters  are  good,  the  style  pure,  cor- 
'•^.^'Vr^'Vida?  XpiSfrSWe.  imagination 
and  power  in  no  common  degree.  ••  J  '  FUen 
more  power  and  strength  put  forth  m  Ellen 
Havmond-  than  perhaps  in  any.  lady  s  book  of 
iliis"  eneration."-Saf  urduiT  Revtexc  „ 

"This  novel  wiU  find  a  great  many  admirers. 
—Leader.  ] 

LOST  AND  WON.    By  Georgiana 
M.  Craik,  Author  of  "  Riverston. 
1  vol.    2nd  Edition. 

•'  Nothing  superior  to  this  novel  has  appealed 
during  the  present  seison.'*— ■^<'<"*^:     „„  „„j  ;„ 

•'Miss  Craik's  new  story  is  a  «o<)d  one  and  in 
point.or  ability  above  the  average  of  ladies  nov  els. 

'"The  Sfuage  is  good,  the  narrative  spirited 
the  characfcrs^re  fairly  delineated,  and  he 
dialogue    has    considerable    dramatic    force.  - 

^''J.^'^Ms  ^/tntmprovement  on  Miss  Craik's  first 
work.  The  story  is  more  compact  and  mure 
interesting."— .4  fA€7J«M  »». 

THE    MOORS    AND    THE    FENS. 
By  F.  G.  Trafford.    3  vols. 

"This  novel  stands  out  much  In  the  same  way 
that  •  J  ane  Eyre '  did.  ^ .  .  .  The  c^a/af  ers  are 
drawn  by  a  mind  which  «a"  real.ze^tlctmo^^ 
characters  with  minute  intensity,  —bamru'^s 
^-Ifis  seldom  that  a  Arst  fiction  is  entitl^Uj 
such  applause  as  is  'The  Moors  and  the  Ftus^^ 
and  we  shall  look  anxiously  for  the  w  nter  s  nei 

®"¥heluSor  iias  the  gift  of  telling  a  story.  a«i 
•The  Moors    and   the  Fens'    will  be  read. 
Athenatum. 


SMITH,    EI^DER    ^ISTD     CO. 


NEW  NOVELS-con^mwecZ. 


AN    OLD    DEBT.    By      Florence 
Dawson.    2  vols. 

'•a  powerfully  written  novel ;  one  of  the  best 
which  has  recently  proceeded  from  a  female 
hand.  .  .  .  The  dialogue  is  vigorous  and 
spirited."— IforwjjjflT  Post. 

"There  is  an  energy  and  vitality  about  this 
work  which  distinguish  it  from  the  common 
head  of  novels.  Its  terse  vigour  sometimes  recals 
31iss  Hronte,  but  in  some  respects  Miss  Florence 
Dawson  is  decidedly  superior  to  tlie  author  ol' 
•Jane  Eyre.'"— Saturdaj/  Review. 

"Tliis  novel  is  written  with  great  care  and 
painstaking :  it  evinces  considerable  powers  of 
reflection.  The  style  is  good,  and  the  author 
possesses  the  power  of  depicting  emotion."— 
JiheTUBum. 

"A  very  good  seasonable  novel."— deader. 

SYLVAN      HOLT'S      DAUGHTER. 

By  Holme  Lee,  Author  of  "  Kathie 

Brande,"  &c.     2nd  edition.   3  vols. 

"  The  well-established  reputation  of  Holme 
I^e.  as  a  novel  writer,  will  receive  an  additional 

flory  from  the  publication  of  'Sylvan  Holt's 
'aughter.'  It  is  a  charming  tale  or  country  life 
and  character."— G/o6e. 

"There  is  much  that  is  attractive  in  •Sylvan 
Holts  Daughter,'  much  that  is  graceful  and  re- 
fined, much  that  is  fresh,  healthy,  and  natural." 
~-Press. 

•'The  conception  of  the  story  has  a  good  deal  of 
originality,  and  the  characters  avoid  common- 
place  U'pes.  witliout  being  unnatural  or  improba- 
ble. The  heroine  herself  is  charming.  It  is  a 
novel  in  which  there  is  much  to  interest  and 
please."— A'eir  Quarterly  Review. 

'  A  novel  that  is  well  worth  reading,  and  wliich 
possesses  tlie  cnrdinal  virtue  of  being  extremely 
Interesting."— 4  ^Aena?M  TO. 

"A  really  sound,  good  book,  highly  finished, 
true  to  nature,  vigorous,  passionate,  honest,  and 
■Inoere."- 2>tt6/i;»  Univeratty  Magazine. 

MY    LADY !    A  Tale   of   Modern 
Life.     2  vols. 

"'3Iy  Lady'  is  a  fine  specimen  of  an  English 
matron,  exhibiting  that  union  of  strength  and 
gentleness,  of  common  sense  and  romance,  of 
eriergy  and  grace,  which  nearly  approaches  our 
Ideal  of  womanhood."— Pr?ss. 
— IIH^.^'^^I^ '  evinces  charming  feeling  and  deli- 
wicy  of  touch  It  18  a  novel  that  will  be  read  with 
Interest."— ^^Ac?UEi^OT. 

«*>J''*,  ^^^""J  \^  ^"•'^  throughout  with  great 
strength  of  feeling,  is  well  written,  and  lias  a 
piot  Which  is  by  no  means  common-place."— 
iixamtntr. 

"There  is  some  force  and  a  good  deal  of  fresh- 
5!fli?  *^X  Lady.'  Tlie  characters  are  distinctly 
?4?^'.  *""  °'!'e"  ^'^ar  an  appearance  of  indi- 
i«  flAi.^'  "i^  almost  personality.  The  execution 
*8,;rt;8h  and  powerful."— >-j)e«(i^>r. 

^  A  tale  of  spme  vower."— National  Review. 
.f«ii»^'  ""*  *"  every  novel  we  can  light  upon  a 

S^rpffln^'^M^^'y  .^r'^^^^^-'iPO"  an  intelligence 
«J!?"v^  without  littleness,  so  tenderly  truthful. 
Which  has  sensibihty  rather  than  poetry:    but 

ft,i  "  \V^}f^  ^i?^^  «"^t'y  a»d  searchingly  imver- 
™l- '-^'''/iw  Umversit!/  ilaffazine. 

care  has  been  bestowed  on  the  writinjr  which 
ar^\'f.uhf..r«'*  flowing.  The  descriptions  ol-'imlure 
are  truthful  and  delicately  drawn."— £cono»«»f. 

CASTON   BLIGH.    By  L.  S.  Lavenu, 
Author  of  "  Erlesmere."    2  vols. 

t^iV^'Jn*^^  ^1**^'  *?  a.  ,>?ood  storj',  admirablv 
P?n«i^>."  of  stirring  incident,  sustaining  to  the 
Close  the  interest  of  a  very  ingenious  plot  and 
spWi"iiVA  ^^'J^''  sketcWs  of  character.  It 
(^Jfc  •  ^^  reward  perusal,"- 


THE    PROFESSOR.       By    Ccrreb 
Bell.     2^o1s. 

"We  think  the  author's  friends  have  shown 
sound  judgment  in  publishing  the  '  Professor  * 
now  that  she  is  gone.  ...  It  shows  the  first 
germs  of  conception,  which  afterwards  expanded 
and  ripened  into  the  great  creations  of  her  imagi- 
nation. At  the  same  timj  her  advisers  were 
etiiially  right  when  they  counselled  her  not  to 
publisli  It  in  her  lifeti'ne.  .  .  .  But  it  abounds 
in  merits."— ,Sa<urt/ai^  Revu-w. 

"The  idea  is  original,  an  I  we  everj'  here  and 
there  detect  germs  of  that  Dower  which  took  the 
world  by  storm  in  'Jane  Eyre.'  The  rejection  of 
the  Trofessor'  was,  in  our  opinion,  no  less  ad- 
vantageous to  the  young  autlioress  than  creditable 
to  the  discernment  of  the  bcoksellers."— Pre««. 

Anything  which  throws  ight  upon  the  growth 
and  composition  of  such  a  mind  cannot  be  other- 
wise than  interesting.  In  the '  Professor '  we  may 
discover  the  germs  of  man r  trains  of  thinkintr, 
which  afterwards  came  to  be  enlari?ed  and 
Illustrated  in  subsequent  and  more  perfect 
works."- CnYfo, 

"There  is  much  new  ins  ght  in  it,  m«ch  ex- 
tremely characteristic  geuins,  and  one  character, 
moreover  of  freslier,  lighter,  and  more  airy 
grace."— £'eono»jM^ 

"We  have  read  it  with  the  deepest  interest: 
and  confidently  predict  thai;  this  legacy  of  Char- 
lotte Bronte's  genius  will  renew  and  confirm  the 
general  admiration  of  her  ex  ;raordinary  powers."" 
— Eclectic. 

BELOW    THE    SUFIFACE.    3  vols. 

"The  book  is  unquestionrbly  clever  and  enter- 
taining The  writer  develops  from  first  to  last 
his  double  view  of  human  lii'e,  as  coloured  by  the 
manners  of  our  age.  ...  It  is  a  tale  superior 
to  ordinary  novels,  in  its  practical  application  to 
the  phases  of  actual  life."— .4  thenceum. 

'  There  is  a  great  deal  of  cle  .erness  in  this  story  : 
a  much  greater  knowledge  of  countrv  life  nnd 
character  in  its  various  as  )ects  and  conditions 
than  IS  possessed  by  nine-tenths  of  the  novelists 
who  undertake  to  describe  it  "—Spectator 

"The  novel  is  one  that  keeiis  the  attention  fixed, 
and  It  18  written  in  a  genial,  often  playful  tone. 
^  ..ml^.'^P^^  ',**  throughout  ex^'.el\ent." -Examiner. 
This  IS  a  book  which  poss  ;sses  the  rare  merit 
of  being  exactly  what  it  cla  ms  to  be,  a  story  of 
English  country  life;  and,  moreover,  a  very  well 
told  story."— Z)ai/i/ A'«p«. 

'"Below  the  Surface'  men  ;8  high  praise.  It  is 
fiui  of  good  things;  good  laste— good  feeling- 
good  wnting-good  notions,  and  high  morality.'* 
—Globe. 

•'Temperate,  sensible,  kimfiy.  and  pleasant."— 
Sat  ur  da]/ Review. 

"A  more  pleasant  story  we  have  not  read  for 
many  a  ilsLy."-£riti»h  Quarterly. 


(CHANCES. 

of    "The    Fair 


THE    THREE 

By    the    Author 
Carew."    3  vols. 

"  T^is  novel  is  of  a  more  solid  texture  than 
most  of  Its  contemporaries.  It  is  full  of  good 
sense,  good  thought,  and  good  writing."— ^^<afe»- 
man. 

••Some  of  the  characters  i.nd  romantic  situa- 
tions are  strongly  marked  ami  peculiarly  original, 
.  .  .  It  IS  the  great  merit  o'  the  authoress  that 
the  personages  of  her  tale  ai€  human  and  real."— 
Leader, 

THE  CRUELEST  WRONG  OF  ALU 

By  the  Author  of  "Margaret ;  or, 
Prejudice  at  Home. '     1  vol. 

"The  author  has  a  pathetic  vein,  and  there  is  a 
tender  sweetness  in  the  tone  jf  her  narration."— 
Leader. 

"It  has  the  first  requisite  of  a  work  meant  to 
amuse:  it  is  amusing."- G'/oie 

21 


NEW  l!iOYELS— continued. 


KATHIE  BRANDE :  a  Fireside  His- 
tory OP  A  Quiet  Life.  By 
Holme  Lee.     2  vols. 

" '  Kathie  Brande '  is  not  merely  a  very  interest- 
ing novel— it  is  a  very  wholesome  one,  for  it 
leach '9  virtue  by  example."— Crjfic. 

••  Throusrhout  'Kathie  Brande'  there  is  much 
sweetness,  and  considerable  power  of  description. 

—Saturday  Revietc.  ,    .  ^      ,1     *    ♦„  +v» 

"  '  Kathie  Brande '  is  intended  to  illustrate  the 
paramount  excellence  of  duty  as  a  movini?  prin- 
ciple.   It  is  full  of  beautie3."-Daj/i/ iVe»8. 

"'Certainly  one  of  the  best  novels  that  we  have 
lately  read."— Guardian. 

EVA     DESMOND  ;    or,   Mutation. 
3  vols. 

"A  more  beautiful  creation  than  Eva  it  would 
be  difficult  to  imagine.  The  novel  is  undoubtedly 
full  of  interest."— JMorninc  P"**- .   .      ...     .     ^„„ 

•'  There  is  power,  pathos,  and  originality  in  con- 
ception and  catastrophe."— X»«ad«r. 

THE      NOBLE     TRAYTOUR. 

A  Chronicle.     3  vols. 

"  An  Elizabethan  masquerade.  Shakespeare, 
the  Queen.  Essex,  Ilalei^h,  and  a  hundred  nobles, 
ladies,  and  knights  of  the  land  appear  on  the 
stasie.  The  autlior  has  imbued  himself  with  the 
spirit  of  the  times."— L«arfer. 

"The  storj-  is  told  with  a  graphic  and  graceful 
Den.  and  the  chronicler  has  produced  a  romance 
not  only  of  great  value  in  a.hi.stoncal  point  ol 
view,  but  possessing  many  claims  upon  the  atten- 
tion of  the  scholar,  the  antitiuary.  and  the  general 
reader."— Po«f. 

PERVERSION  ;  or,  The  Causes  and 
Consequences  of  Infidelity.  By 
the  late  Rev.  W.  J.  Conybeare. 

3  vols. 
"This   story  has  a  touching  interest,  which 
lingers  with  the  reader  after  he  has  closed  the 

^'^''^Thrtone"is"good  and  healthv  ;  the  religious 
feeling,  sound  and  true,  and  well  sustained.  — 

"  It  is  long,  very  long,  since  we^  have  read  a 
narrative    of    more  power  than  this.  —Brtttsn 

Quarterlu  Review .  ,, 

'This  is  a  good  and  a  noble  book.  — iVetr 
Quarterli/. 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE  BY  THE  SEA  : 

A  Love  Story.     By  M.  BETHJjtf- 
Edwards.     2  vols. 

"A  tale  of  English  domestic  life.  The  writing  is 
verv  good,  graceful,  and  unaffected ;  it  pleases 
■without  startling.  In  the  dialogue,  people  do  not 
harangue,  but  talk,  and  talk  naturalJy.'^-Crtrtc 

••The  narrative  and  scenes  exhibit  feminine 
spirit  and  quiet  truth  of  delineation."— Spectafor. 

MAUD  SKILLICORNE'S  PENANCE. 
By  Mary  C.  Jackson,  Author  of 
"The  Story  of  My  Wardship." 
2  vols.  . 

"The  style  is  natural,  and  displays  considerable 
dramatic  power."— Crifie.  •„  v.«  „„^ 

"  It  is  a  well  concocted  tale,  and  will  be  very 
palatable  to  novel  reader«."—l/or7itn(7P<'«*- 


THE    ROUA    PASS.     By  Erick 
Mackenzie.    3  vols. 

"  It  is  seldom  that  we  have  to  notice  80  good  a 
novel  as  the  '  Roua  Pass.'  The  story  is  weR  con- 
trived and  well  told ;  the  incidents  are  natural  and 
varied :  several  of  the  characters  are  skilfully 
drawn,  and  that  of  the  heroine  is  fresh,  powerful, 
and  original.  The  Ilighlaiul  scenery,  m  which 
the  plot  IS  laid,  is  descrilted  with  truth  and  feehng 
—with  a  command  of  language  which  leaves  a 
vivid  impression."- 5!a«Mr(i'»y  Review. 

"  The  peculiar  charm  of  the  novel  is  its  skilml 
paintini?  of  the  Highlands,  and  of  life  among  the 
Hiiclilauders.  Quick  observation  and  a  true  sense 
of  the  poetry  in  nature  and  human  life,  the 
author  has."— Examine^.  i 

"  The  attractions  of  the  story  are  so  numerous 
and  varied,  that  it  would  be  ditflcult  to  single  out      ] 
any  one  point  of  it  for  attention.    It  is  a  brilliant 
social  picture  of  sterling  scenes  and   striking 
adventures."- &'«w. 

RIVERSTON.       By    Georgiana    M. 
Craik.    3  vols. 

"A  decidedly  eood  novel.  The  hook  is  a  very 
clever  one,  containing  much  good  writing,  well 
discriminated  sketches  ot  character,  and  a  story 
told  so  as  to  bind  the  reader  pretty  closely  to  the 
text."— Examiner.  ,    ■  ., 

"Miss  Craik  is  a  very  lively  writer:  she  has  vnt, 
and  she  has  sense,  and  she  has  made  in  the 
beautiful  young  governess,  with  her  strong  will, 
saucy  indcppn(leii''e,  and  promptness  of  repartee, 
aninterestinstpicture."- i'r?*.-* 

"Miss  Craik  writes  well;   she  can  paint  cha- 
racter,   passions,   manners,    with    considerable 
effect :  her  dialogue  flows  easily  and  expressively. 
— Daily  News,  ^    ,,  

"The  author  shows  great  command  of  language, 
a  force  and  clearness  of  expression  not  often  met 
with  .  .  We  offer  a  welcome  to  Miss  Craik, 
and  we  shall  look  with  interest  for  her  next 
\\oY\i."—Ath£n<Bum. 

FARINA.     By  George  Meredith. 
1  vol. 

"A  masque  of  ravishers  in  steel,  of  robber 
knights ;  of  wat^^r-woraen,  more  ravislnng  than 
lovely.  It  lias  also  a  brave  and  tender  (Ichverer, 
and  a  heroine  proper  for  a  romance  of  Colugue. 
Those  who  love  a  real,  lively,  auda<^ious  piece  or 
extravagance,  by  way  of  a  change,  wiU  enjoy 
'  Yvt.r\na,.'"—Athen<Bum. 

FRIENDS     OF     BOHEMIA; 

or,  Phases  of  London  Life.  By 
E.  M.  Whitty,  Author  of  "  The 
Governing  Classes."     2  vols. 

"Mr.  Whitty  is  a  genuine  satirist,  employing 
satire  for  a  genuine  p^irpose.  You  laugh  with  him 
very  much:  but  the  laughter  is  fruity  and  ripe  in 
thought.  His  style  is  serious,  and  his  cast  or 
mind  severe.  The  author  has  a  merriment  aKin 
to  that  of  Jaques  and  tliat  of  T\mon:'—Athenaum. 

THE    EVE    OF     ST.     MARK.      A 

Romance  of  Venice.    By  Thomas 

DOUBLEDAY.  2  VOls. 
"  •  The  Eve  of  St.  Mark '  is  not  only  well  written, 
but  adroitly  constructed,  and  interesting.  Its 
tone  is  perhaps  too  gorgeous ;  its  movement  is  too 
much  that  of  a  masquerade;  but  a  mjstery  is 
created,  and  a  very  loveable  heroine  is  pour- 
X,T9^eA."—Athenceu'm. 


NOVELS    FORTHCOMING. 

A   NEW    NOVEL.    By  Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  Author  of  **The  Scarlet 

Letter,"  &c.    3  vols. 

A  NEW  NOVEL.    By  the  Author  of  "My  Lady,"  3  vols. 
And  other   Works  cf  Ficticn  hij  Popular  Authors. 
22 


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contents. 

Sr.MPL«  NAHKATlVES  OF  HISTORICAL  EV.XT.ff^g^^ 


ELUCIOATIOXS  OF  NATURAL  HIStYjry.  adaptod'to encoiuw 

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OF 


Miss  Edgewoeth's  Opinion  of  the  Paeents'  Cabin] 
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'  v 


\B 


II 


24 


London :  Printed  by  Smith,  Elde»  and  Co.,  Little  Green  Arbour  Court,  E.G. 


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